Women's Basketball Sweeps NEC Weekly Awards; Whippy Named Player of the Week and Nainima Garners Sixth Rookie of the Week Honor

1/22/07 -- Long Island University’s Fijian duo of junior Mikaelar Whippy (Suva, Fiji) and freshman Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji) swept the Choice Hotels Northeast Conference women’s basketball weekly awards, with Whippy taking home Player of the Week honors and Nainima earning Rookie of the Week accolades. The Blackbirds went undefeated last week, defeating Robert Morris, St. Francis (N.Y.) and Fairleigh Dickinson to move into first place in the NEC.

Whippy averaged 19 points and eight rebounds over the three games to pick up her first-ever Player of the Week award. She started things off with a 21-point, seven-rebound performance in Long Island’s win over Robert Morris on Jan. 15 and followed that up with her first career double-double in the win at St. Francis. Against the Terriers, she scored 19 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds.

The 5-foot-8 guard capped off her week with 17 points and eight rebounds against Fairleigh Dickinson. Whippy compiled 13 assists and nine steals while sitting out a total of just three minutes in the Blackbirds’ three contests. She shot 47 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three-point land, knocking down seven treys.

Nainima bucked the trend of capturing every other Rookie of the Week award by averaging 16 points and six rebounds to take home her second consecutive newcomer honor. She scored 11 points and collected nine caroms in the Blackbirds’ win over Robert Morris. At St. Francis, Nainima netted 21 points and snared four boards, despite being limited to just 27 minutes due to foul trouble.

The 5-foot-5 guard added 16 points and five rebounds against Fairleigh Dickinson. For the week, she contributed a total of 11 assists, seven steals and a block. Nainima shot 47 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the arc where she drained seven trifectas.

The Blackbirds (14-5, 7-1 NEC) will put their seven-game winning streak on the line later today when they visit Wagner in the first game of a twin billing with the men’s basketball team. Tip-off is slated for 5:00 p.m. and the game will be televised locally on Fox SportsNet.