Saint Peter’s Sweeps Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Weekly Awards

2/22/2021 2:00:00 PM

Player of the Week
Ajia James, Saint Peter’s
Fr., Stafford, VA/Bishop O’Connell
James was lights out against Niagara in the Peacocks' weekend split with the Purple Eagles. The freshman finished the weekend with a pair of double-doubles, bringing her season tally up to four. During the Feb. 20 matchup between the two sides, James finished with career highs in scoring and rebounding, dropping 20 points while pulling down 15 boards. Additionally, the rookie shot 52.9 percent from the floor, going 9-for-17 from the field. In Sunday's 70-55 win over the Purple Eagles, James scored 17 points on 50 percent shooting while besting her career mark in rebounding once again, pulling down 16 boards with an even eight offensive and eight defensive rebounds. The Stafford, Virginia native now ranks sixth in the league on the glass with 7.8 rebounds per game.

Rookie of the Week
Sky Castro, Saint Peter’s
Fr., Queens, NY/Summit Academy Charter
Castro was a force in the Peacocks' weekend split with the Purple Eagles, averaging 17 points and eight rebounds through the two games. On Feb. 20, Castro was locked in from the floor, finishing with a career-high 18 points while going 9-for-11 from the field. The rookie followed the performance up with a double-double in the Peacocks' 70-55 win on Feb. 21, scoring 16 points while securing 12 rebounds in the exchange. The freshman forward also set a new career best in free throws on Sunday, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Castro joins her classmate, Ajia James, in the league's Top 10 for rebounding, as the Queens native currently ranks ninth with 7.5 boards per game.

About the 2021 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 8-13, 2021 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit http://maacsports.com/basketball and follow @MAACHoops on Twitter.

About Time Out for Black Lives
Time Out for Black Lives aims to inspire and educate youth, athletes, families and fans. The initiative has an interactive website where coaches and student-athletes from MAAC basketball programs contribute their time and resources to read children’s books in entertaining videos, all focusing on Black culture, history, music and myths. The program comes as part of the MAAC’s United for Justice campaign that was announced over the summer. For more information, visit timeoutforblacklives.com.

About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40^th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.