Tamika
Dudley wins second Northeast Conference Player-of-the-Week award
in 2002
Feb. 11, 2002
Blackbirds forward
Tamika Dudley (Woodbridge, VA), who is putting together another
spectacular campaign that is rivaling last season’s, today
was named Northeast Conference Player of the Week for the second
time in 2002.
It was a week filled
with milestones for the 5-9 junior, who closed with 61 points
on 27-of-45 shooting and grabbed 32 rebounds for a trio of double-doubles.
Dudley has eight double-doubles this season, including her second
three-game streak of the year, and 21 career.
Dudley began her exploits
Monday against Fairleigh Dickinson, moving into 10th place on
LIU’s all-time scoring list with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting
and 11 rebounds in a 90-65 win. She vaulted into eighth place
Wednesday against Quinnipiac with 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting
and 10 rebounds as the Blackbirds prevailed, 67-57.
Saturday’s 81-66
win over first-place St. Francis (PA) was Dudley’s crowning
achievement last week as she helped LIU rally from a 14-point,
second-half deficit. Dudley closed with 23 points on a stunning
10-of-13 shooting to become the school’s seventh leading
scorer and grabbed 11 rebounds. It was her sixth 20-point output
this season and the Blackbirds are 5-1 in those contests.
In addition to her
place on LIU’s scoring list with 1,153 points, Dudley also
is among the school’s elite in three other categories. She
is second in free throws (292), fourth in assists (244) and eighth
in rebounds (654).
Dudley is averaging
a team-best 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest to help LIU
(12-10, 9-4 NEC) post its best Northeast Conference start in school
history. The Blackbirds have won three straight contests, eight
of their last 12 and sit one game behind St. Francis (PA).
This is the third award
Dudley has received this season. She was tabbed NEC Player of
the Week on January 14 and also was selected for the all-tournament
team at the Southwest Lobo Shootout in Albuquerque, NM (Dec. 21-22).
Dudley also earned NEC Player-of-the-Week honors on February 5,
2001.
Last season was a breakthrough
campaign for Dudley, who averaged 16.2 points and 8.4 rebounds
per game and was named to the All-NEC and All-Met teams. In the
NEC semifinals, she scored 31 points over 45 minutes in LIU’s
80-74 come-from-behind overtime win over Quinnipiac.
Dudley closed the tournament
with 19.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game to capture MVP honors
as the Blackbirds clinched their first NEC championship and their
first NCAA Tournament appearance. She finished the season with
11 double-doubles, including seven straight from January 25-February
12.
The Blackbirds continue
their four-game road trip tonight against Robert Morris at 7:30.
