DALLAS – Senior center Nancy Mulkey collected the season’s first Conference USA Player of the Week award behind a pair of double-figure scoring efforts in Rice’s 2-0 opening week. WKU newcomer Ally Collett was awarded C-USA Freshman of the Week after her 16-point debut against (RV/RV) Tennessee marked the highest for a Lady Topper freshman since 2009.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NANCY MULKEY, RICE
SENIOR, C, 6-9, CYPRESS, TEXAS
Mulkey guided defending C-USA Regular Season Champion Rice to a 2-0 start to open the 2020-21 campaign. The senior nearly averaged a double-double in a pair of double-digit wins over Houston Baptist and Little Rock with 18.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. Mulkey posted 23 points on 11-of-18 field goals, including her career’s first 3-pointer, to pair with 13 boards versus Houston Baptist on Wednesday. At Little Rock on Saturday, the center added 13 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Through two games and an average 28.0 minutes, Mulkey is shooting at a field-goal clip of 61.5 percent. The award marks the third of her career (1/20/2020, 1/28/2019).

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
ALLY COLLETT, WKU
FRESHMAN, G, 5-7, LONDON, KY.
Collett poured in a team-high 16 points for WKU in the team’s loss against Tennessee on Saturday. In her first collegiate start, the guard sunk 4-of-7 shots from the floor, with a 3-for-6 performance from beyond the arc. She also hit all five of her free throw attempts. On the defensive side of the ball, the Kentucky product contributed a trio of defensive rebounds and two steals in her 28 minutes.

C-USA Players of the Week
N30        Nancy Mulkey, Rice

C-USA Freshmen of the Week
N30        Ally Collett, WKU