BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – After rewriting the West Liberty University women’s basketball record books and leading the Hilltoppers to a trio of impressive victories, junior forward Arriana Manzay has been selected as the Mountain East Conference Player of the Week.
The athletic 6-3 frontliner from Lubbock, Texas was virtually unstoppable on the blocks as Coach Kyle Cooper’s youthful Black and Gold closed out their pre-holiday slate by sweeping three straight non-conference tests inside the ASRC.
Manzay got the week off to a flying start on Tuesday, shattering a 12-year-old school record with a perfect 11-for-11 shooting night from the floor and tallying a career-high 26 points as West Liberty rallied to a 78-67 win against Ohio Dominican. The 11-for-11 showing was the most field goals without a miss in a single game by an NCAA Division II woman since the 2019-20 season.
She stuffed the stat sheet again on Thursday night, going 8-for-10 from the floor in a 92-41 blowout of Bluefield State before capping her week with a third dazzling performance on Saturday afternoon.
Going up against G-MAC power Malone (Ohio), Manzay helped the Hilltoppers come storming back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to pull out a 71-65 win. She finished with game-highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds while knocking down 10 of her 13 shots from the floor.
For the week, Manzay averaged 21.3 points and 9.3 rebounds a night while shooting an incredible 29-of-34 from the field. Those numbers vaulted the Texas junior up the national charts and she now ranks 10thin the nation in Field Goal Percentage at 62.5 percent (65-of-104).
Manzay and her Hilltopper teammates are home for the holidays but will return to Mountain East Conference action on Jan. 5 when they host Concord in a 5:30 p.m. game at the ASRC.