Shaiquel McGruder Selected as MW Player of the Week
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Following a week in which she averaged 19.5 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game, 3.0 steals per game and 3.0 blocks per game and shot 83.3 percent from the floor, Shaiquel McGruder was named Mountain West Player of the Week on Monday.
It is the second career weekly conference award for McGruder and she is the first Lobo to be selected this season.
The Lobo forward had a sensational week, scoring in double figures in both games against Abilene Christian and New Mexico State, highlighted by a perfect 9-9 shooting against ACU.
McGruder finished with a game-high 23 points in the win against the Wildcats to go with a game-high 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, and added a game-high four steals and game-high five blocks. It was the seventh-straight game with multiple blocks and second game this season with five, and the sixth game with multiple steals. Against the Aggies, the Ohio native recorded a team-high 16 points and added two steals and a block to her weekly total, playing 35:08 and all but 53 seconds of the third and fourth quarters.
McGruder stepped up in key situations for the Lobos in both games, as after the Wildcats went on a 9-2 run that cut the lead to two at 39-37 in the third quarter, a McGruder fast-break layup assisted by LaTora Duff, with McGruder drawing the foul and converting the and-one opportunity pushed the lead back to two possessions at 42-37. In the final 20 minutes, McGruder had 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and played the entire 20 minutes. Against the Aggies, after NMSU went on a run to tie the game at 57 with 3:49 left to play, McGruder gave the Lobos the 59-57 lead on the following possession, and with the game tied at 64, McGruder drew the foul with 14 seconds left and put the Lobos back in the lead with a go-ahead free throw that was the difference.
On the season, McGruder has finished in double figures in nine games, with two games with 20-plus points, has had at least one block in all 10 games and at least one steal in eight games and has produced three games with 10 or more rebounds. She is averaging 14.3 points per game, shooting 65.6 percent from the floor, with 8.4 rebounds per game, 2.3 steals per game and 2.9 blocks per game.
Among MW players, the Lobo leads the conference in field-goal percentage, blocks and blocks per game, and is fourth in scoring and rebounding, and sixth in steals. McGruder is the only MW player in the top 10 in points, rebounds, blocks and steals and as aforementioned also leads the conference in shooting percentage.
Nationally, McGruder is fourth in the NCAA in blocks, eighth in blocks per game and 10th in field-goal percentage.
The Lobos head to Florida for the Sun Coast Challenge against Old Dominion and Mississippi State, but host South Carolina State in their final non-conference game on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.