Local college basketball notes: Gonzaga's Ike, Ejim, WSU's Rice honored
From news services
Gonzaga junior forward Graham Ike was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week, the Conference announced Monday.
In the 77-72 win over San Francisco, Ike notched 22 points with seven rebounds and a block. Two nights later, in a close battle at Pacific, Ike collected 20 points three rebounds and a block. He helped the Zags hold on and beat the Tigers, 82-73, in Stockton, Calif.
Gonzaga, still unranked, plays host to Loyola Marymount tonight (8 p.m., ESPN, KGA 1510, 103.5 FM). The Zags play host to Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
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Senior forward Yvonne Ejim of Gonzaga was named the WCC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday.
Ejim had two double-doubles last week to help Gonzaga keep a perfect 7-0 conference record and extend its overall winning streak to 14 games. Ejim grabbed 13 rebounds in both games on the road at Santa Clara and San Francisco and averaged 20 points a game.
This is her fifth WCC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor.
Gonzaga, which dropped from 17th to 19th in The Associated Press poll despite the two victories, travels to San Diego on Thursday, then plays host to Pacific on Saturday.
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Washington State men’s basketball redshirt freshman Myles Rice was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this year, the Pac-12 Conference announced Monday.
Last week, Rice led the Cougs to wins over Utah and Colorado at home for just the second time in Pac-12 history, both coming under the guidance of WSU coach Kyle Smith. Rice extended his double-figure scoring streak to eight consecutive games and is the conference’s top freshman scorer at 15.6 points per game.
In Wednesday night’s win over Utah, Rice scored 10 points with six assists and a career-high seven rebounds.
On Saturday, Rice scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half against the Buffs, and committed just two turnovers.
Washington State travels to Seattle on Saturday to face Washington.