Pac-12 Players of the Week: USC’s Temi Fagbenle, Cal’s Kristine Anigwe
- Hoopfeed’s ballot: Player of the Week: Temi Fagbenle (USC) || Freshman of the Week: Kristine Anigwe (Cal)
Cheryl Coward, founding editor of Hoopfeed, participates in the weekly Pac-12 voting.
For the week of Jan. 4-10. USC forward Temi Fagbenle was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year for the first time this season. California’s Kristine Anigwe ties the conference record for the most weekly freshman honors in a single season, earning the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award for the seventh time.
Fagbenle (Ibadan, Nigeria), a graduate student who earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard, led the Women of Troy to a 71-68 upset of then-No. 15 UCLA on Sunday in the second game of the rivalry clashes. The transfer from Harvard had team highs of 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting and 20 rebounds to help the Trojans avoid the regular-season sweep after the Bruins won the first meeting this season, 78-73. The double-double against the Bruins was the second of the week for Fagbenle, after leading USC with 19 points and 11 rebounds in a 74-67 win over Oregon earlier in the week. It was the first time this season she had posted double-doubles and is the fifth this season overall. For the week, Fagbenle averaged 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 65.4 from the floor. It is her first-career Pac-12 weekly honor and USC’s 45th all-time.
Anigwe (Phoenix, Ariz.) ties the conference record for the most Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors set by Washington’s Kelsey Plum in 2013-14, claiming her seventh this season. Anigwe averaged 20.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as the Golden Bears went 1-2 last week. She opened the week with a 19-point, 11-rebound performance in the 57-52 road setback at Arizona, going 8-for-11 with four blocks. She followed up with 20 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the 64-35 win over Colorado, also adding a career-high four assists. Against Utah, Angiwe posted her third-straight double-double and ninth on the season. Second in the Conference in scoring with an average of 21.9 ppg, she is the second-highest scoring freshman in the country, ranking 12th overall. She is also fourth in the Pac-12 with 9.8 rpg, the third-best average in the country among all freshmen. It is the 10th freshman weekly honor for the Cal program all-time.
A player of the week has been selected every week since 1986-87, the first year the Conference sponsored women’s sports. A freshman of the week was first selected in 2012-13. The Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the Week are voted on by a panel of media that regularly cover Pac-12 women’s basketball.
USC travels to take on the Northwest schools, making a stop at Washington State on Friday before heading to Washington on Sunday. The Bears hit the road for Oregon State and Oregon this weekend for games on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Also Nominated:
PLAYER: Sophie Brunner, ASU; Kristine Anigwe, CAL; Haley Smith, COLO; Ruth Hamblin, OSU; Erica McCall, STAN; Jordin Canada, UCLA; Emily Potter, UTAH; Kelsey Plum, WASH.
FRESHMAN: Sabrina Haines, ASU; Kennedy Leonard, COLO; Katie McWilliams, OSU.
2015-16 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Players of the Week
| Date | Player | Freshman |
| Nov. 16 | Courtney Range, CAL | Kristine Anigwe, CAL |
| Nov. 23 | Jordin Canada, UCLA | Borislava Hristova, WSU |
| Nov. 30 | Lili Thompson, STAN | Kristine Anigwe, CAL |
| Dec. 7 | Jillian Alleyne, ORE | Kristine Anigwe, CAL |
| Dec. 14 | Emily Potter, UTAH | Kristine Anigwe, CAL |
| Dec. 21 | Lili Thompson, STAN | Maite Cazorla, ORE |
| Dec. 28 | Arnecia Hawkins, ASU | Kristine Anigwe, CAL |
| Jan. 4 | Nirra Fields, UCLA | Kristine Anigwe, CAL |
| Jan. 11 | Temi Fagbenle, USC | Kristine Anigwe, CAL |
