BYU women's basketball player Sydney Benally named Big 12 freshman of the week

Sydney Benally earned her first Big 12 Freshman of the Year nod behind a career-high 18 points and seven assists in BYU's win over Virginia Tech.

Benally has been a key component of the Cougars' offense so far, playing a major role in their Thanksgiving win against the Hokies in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.

Leading the way, Benally also finished the game with two steals and two rebounds.

In BYU's loss to No. 17 Vanderbilt on Saturday, Benally finished with 11 points, with nine of the 11 coming from 3-point range.

Benally left the Virgin Islands tournament averaging 14.5 points, 5.0 assists, 1.5 rebounds and a steal per game in two games, making her an easy choice for Big 12 Freshman of the Week and chosen for the All-Tournament team.

Coach Lee Cummard has been pleased with Benally's production. With the reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Delaney Gibb, being out with an injury, Cummard is glad Benally has stepped up to fill in the gaps.

"Sydney has been asked to do a lot for our team in the first eight games, and she has handled it with maturity well beyond her years," Cummard said.

Benally leads all Big 12 freshmen and ranks fourth in the conference with 6.1 assists per game. She also leads conference freshmen with 17 steals on the year, good for sixth in the conference. Benally averages 1.5 made threes per contest, which ranks fourth among Big 12 freshmen.

BYU hosts the Washington State Cougars on Wednesday as they near the end of non-conference play. The contest will be held at 2 p.m. at the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz.