Blackbirds center Jessica Brookes earns second Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week honor

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Jan. 29, 2001

Long Island freshman center Jessica Brookes (Ocean City, NJ) has enjoyed a spectacular January and was rewarded today by being named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week for the second time in four weeks.

Brookes was a major factor in the paint last week as the Blackbirds (7-11, 5-4 NEC) split a pair of contests on their Maryland trip. On Thursday at UMBC, the 6’1” center scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and nailed two 3-pointers in an 89-62 rout. Brookes poured in 10 points in the opening half to help LIU shoot 57 percent (21-of-37) from the floor and gain a 54-27 halftime lead.

Brookes fell one point shy of her first double-double on Saturday as LIU suffered a 73-62 loss at Mount St. Mary’s. She netted nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. Brookes shot 1-of-3 from 3-point range and is 9-of-24 from beyond the arc this season.

It has been a sensational month for Brookes, who has averaged 12.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in the new year. She has scored in double figures five times during that stretch and has averaged 16.5 points per contest in the Blackbirds’ last four victories. Brookes also was named Rookie of the Week on January 8 after averaging 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in victories over Central Connecticut State and Quinnipiac.

"I think it is a great tribute to Jessica and what she has meant to us not only this month, but this season," Blackbirds coach Tony Bozzella said. "Jessica has put in a lot of extra time with the staff this month and has been willing to improve her game."

This season, Brookes is third for LIU with 10.2 points and fourth with 3.8 rebounds per game in 13 contests. She missed five games earlier this season with an injured left ankle.

Receiving awards is nothing new to Brookes, who was a four-year letterwinner at Ocean City High School and was named first-team All-Cape Atlantic League as a junior and senior. She averaged 15.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game a season ago and was named first-team All-South Jersey by the Atlantic City Press. Brookes scored over 1,000 points at Ocean City and was selected to the school’s All-Decade team.

This is the 12th time over the last two seasons a Blackbird has been tabbed Rookie of the Week. Kim Mac Millan (Toms River, NJ) took home the honor eight times last season and Tamika Dudley (Woodbridge, VA) won it twice.

LIU has won four of its last eight contests and just concluded a 2-2 road trip. It returns to Schwartz Athletic Center this Wednesday, when it hosts St. Francis (NY) in the Battle of Brooklyn at 7:00 pm. The Blackbirds play six of their next seven contests at home.