SAN MATEO, Calif. — Santa Clara University women's basketball freshman guard Tess Heal made it three in a row and four of the last five Monday, earning her ninth West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week award for her efforts during the week of Jan. 30 to Feb. 5 against the conference's top two teams.
Heal has won every WCC Freshman of the Week award since Jan. 23, matching her season-long streak of three in a row. She's won nine of the 13 awards handed out this weekend. Santa Clara has collected 10 of the 13 awards, with Marya Hudgins winning the honor on Jan. 16.
Heal averaged 19.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game while shooting over 50% from the floor in two games last week. She was the Broncos' leading scorer against first-place and No. 17-ranked Gonzaga on Thursday in the Broncos' 77-72 upset win. She scored 16 points, dished three assists, grabbed two rebounds and swiped a steal against the Bulldogs. She also hit two 3-pointers and shot 80.0% from the free-throw line.
Saturday, against another first-place team in Portland, she logged her seventh 20-point game of the year with a team-high 22 points. She shot 57.9% from the floor against the Pilots and tied a season-high with seven assists. Heal carried a 2.0 assists-to-turnovers ratio during the week.
Heal has continued to play this season as one of the best freshmen not only in the WCC, not only on the West Coast – but as one of the best in the nation. Her 16.2 points per game is ranked sixth among all freshmen in the country through Sunday. No freshman in any of the West Region's Division I conferences (WCC, Pac-12, Mountain West, Big West, Big Sky, WAC) is scoring higher than her. Heal's 4.1 assists per game are ranked seventh in the country among freshmen.
Heal and the Broncos are on the road this week at Pacific and Saint Mary's on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Fans can find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
2022-23 UCU WCC Women's Basketball Freshmen of the Week
November 14: Tess Heal, Santa Clara
November 21: Tess Heal, Santa Clara
November 28: Tess Heal, Santa Clara
December 5: Sydney Ward, Pacific
December 12: Tess Heal, Santa Clara
December 20: Tess Heal, Santa Clara
December 27: Sydney Ward, Pacific
January 2: Veronica Sheffey, San Diego
January 9: Tess Heal, Santa Clara; Sydney Ward, Pacific
January 16: Marya Hudgins, Santa Clara
January 23: Tess Heal, Santa Clara
January 30: Tess Heal, Santa Clara
February 6: Tess Heal, Santa Clara
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