Dec. 19, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State junior center Malia Nahinu (Hayward, Calif.) has been named the Mountain West Women's Basketball Player of the Week for her performance in the team's victory over UC Irvine, the league office announced Monday. The honor is the first of her Aztec career and the second for SDSU this season.
In her first collegiate start, Nahinu posted a career-high 16 points, seven rebounds, five blocked shots and a pair of steals in helping the squad notch a 76-57 road victory over the Anteaters on Friday evening. Nahinu shot 58 percent from the field (7-for-12) and was 2-for-3 from the free-throw line for her first double-figure scoring outing since transferring to SDSU. She had three blocks, a steal and a rebound in the first three minutes of the second half, helping the team go from a four-point advantage at the break to a 13-point lead with just under 17 minutes left to play. Her five total blocked shots are the most by an Aztec this season and tie as the most by a player in the conference in 2011-12.
Previously, Nahinu's classmate Courtney Clements (Long Beach, Calif.) earned her first league player-of-the-week honor on Nov. 21, following the team's upset of then No. 18 DePaul.
San Diego State will play its final pre-holiday contest on Wednesday when it plays host to Cal Poly for a special 2 p.m. PT tip off at Viejas Arena.