(Posted February 13, 2006)

Huntingdon, PA - Juniata College senior women's basketball player Katie O'Brien (South Western/Hanover) has been selected as the Commonwealth Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week after a pair of strong performances for the Eagles. It marks the second time this season that O'Brien has been selected as the conference's player of the week and is the fourth weekly honor given to a member of the Juniata women's basketball team this season.

O'Brien turned in a pair of noteworthy efforts as Juniata won a pair of conference games this past week. In a win over Lebanon Valley she poured in a career-high 26 points while also matching her career-best with 12 rebounds. It marked her third double-double of the season and was the sixth time she has scored 20 or more points in a game this season. Earlier in the week O'Brien scored nine points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to help the Eagles earn a win over conference foe Elizabethtown. Along with the scoring and rebounding she also contributed two assists, two steals and two blocks on the week while shooting 53.6 percent from the field.

With a pair of regular-season games remaining in her senior year, O'Brien is enjoying the strongest all-around campaign of her career. She is averaging 11.6 points per game, which ties her for second on the team, while her 6.9 rebounds per contest is tops on the Juniata squad. She is shooting 51 percent from the field, which leads the team, and has also swatted a team-high 33 blocked shots. She ranks third in the conference in field-goal percentage and is also in the top-10 in rebounds and blocked shots. Her 159 rebounds this season is already the most she has totaled in a single season, and she also established a new single-season high with 33 blocks. That blocked shot total has moved O'Brien into fourth place in Juniata history with 79 career blocked shots.

With O'Brien playing a pivotal role, Juniata is making a late-season push for a Commonwealth Conference postseason berth. Through 23 games Juniata is 12-11 and with its three-game conference winning streak has improved to 5-7 in conference play, which has put Juniata into a tie for the final postseason position. The 12 victories are the most Juniata has posted since the 2001-02 season, and the team's five conference wins are more than the team earned in each of the previous two seasons combined. The Eagles continue their push for the postseason on Tuesday night when they play at Susquehanna.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.