Jan. 23, 2006

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Following a pair of monster performances which helped lead the Santa Clara women's basketball team to a sweep of the WCC's top two teams last weekend and a tie for third place in the conference standings, Michelle Cozad was named the conference's Player of the Week for an astounding fifth time this season.

Opening the weekend's action Thursday night against second-place Pepperdine, Cozad scored 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to pace the Broncos to a 67-62 victory. As an encore, she dropped her WCC-leading ninth double-double of the season on the first-place Loyola Marymount Lions, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Over the two victories Cozad averaged 27.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals.

"Michelle continues to work very hard to contribute in any way that she can to help our basketball team be successful," said head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "She has done all that has been asked of her on both ends of the floor and we have been proud of her efforts. She has put additional time into her game outside of practice and we are happy to see that her hard work and commitment is paying off."

In addition to her five Player of the Week honors, the Stockton native was also named the WCC's Player of the Month for the month of December. Currently, Cozad leads or is tied for the WCC lead in scoring (18.4 ppg), rebounding (9.6 rpg) and three-pointers made (52). She is also second in the conference in free-throw shooting at 85.3%

Cozad and the Broncos will look to continue their hot streak as they hit the road this weekend, traveling to San Francisco for a 7 p.m. Thursday night contest before flying to San Diego for a Saturday afternoon game at 2 p.m.