Jan. 3, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After helping lead the Santa Clara women's basketball team to a pair of victories last week and snapping a three-game skid, point guard Ashley Graham was recognized as West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Jontelle Smith from Saint Mary's. Graham averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 assists, and shot 55.0% from the floor in wins over Toledo and San Jose State, including an incredible 64.7% (11-of-17) from behind the arc.
"I am very excited for Ashley, she has put in countless hours of work to become the best basketball player that she can be," said head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "She has been quarterbacking our team for the past four years, and it is great to see that her hard work is paying off."
Graham's performances in last week's 73-64 win over Toledo and 71-59 triumph over San Jose State helped the Broncos end the non-conference season with an 8-7 mark, the first time since the 2002-03 season that SCU had finished the non-conference slate at or above the .500 mark. She led the team (along with Chandice Cronk) in both wins with 18 and 15 points, respectively, and dished out eight assists at San Jose State. Additionally, Graham dropped six of her nine three-point attempts against Toledo, before nailing five of eight against the Spartans.
The Redmond, Wash. Native currently sits second in the WCC with her 40 three-pointers and 44% three-point success rate. Graham is also setting her sights on a pair of career marks, as well. Besides being Santa Clara's all-time most accurate three-point shooter (44.8%), with at least 15 games left in the 2006-07 season she is also 108 points away from becoming the 16th member of Santa Clara's prestigious "1,000-Point Club," and 38 three-pointers away from tying Quinn Thomas' (2001-05) all-time mark of 226.
The Broncos travel to Moraga this Sunday afternoon to begin defense of their WCC regular-season title with a 2 p.m. contest against the Saint Mary's Gaels.