Laila Blair Earns Pair of Weekly Honors; Britney Onyeje tabbed to AAC Weekly Honor Roll

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POSTED: March 1, 2021 -- 3:06 p.m. CT

Houston Cougars Women's Basketball freshman guard Laila Blair caps off an historic week for the Cougars with American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week and Fred Wesler College Sports Madness American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors. Britney Onyeje was tabbed to The American Honor Roll.

Blair posted back-to-back 15 point efforts against Wichita State and then No. 13 USF, leading the Cougars in scoring against the Bulls. Blair scored 10 points in the third quarter to help the Cougars pull away from USF, handing the Bulls their first conference loss of the season and snapping their 13-game win streak.

Blair shot 55.6 percent from the field last week and 66.7 percent from the three-point line. Defensively, Blair has been a force and averaged three steals per game last week.

Britney Onyeje was tabbed to The American Athletic Conference Honor Roll after posting a near double-double against USF. Onyeje has been a force for the Cougars, after averaging 10.5 points per game last week along with 7.5 rebounds. Against USF, Onyeje crashed the boards and posted a game-high 10 rebounds. On the defensive end Onyeje averaged two steals this past week.

Houston closes out the regular season when it meets American Athletic Conference rival Cincinnati at 6 p.m., Tuesday, March 2, inside the Fertitta Center. ESPN+ will stream the game. (Get ESPN+).

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK

IImar'I Thomas * Senior * Forward * Cincinnati

Thomas enjoyed an outstanding week for 2-0 Cincinnati, averaging a remarkable 39.5 points and 10.5 rebounds to lead the Bearcats. Thomas added a .683 clip (28-of-41) shooting from the field, 1.5 blocks and 2.5 assists per contest. She re-wrote the conference offensive record book at East Carolina on February 24, scoring an American record 51 points on 20-of-27 from the floor and 11-of-13 attempts from the free-throw line. Thomas added 12 rebounds (10 offensive), four assists and a steal against the Pirates. She closed the weekend with 28 points, nine boards and three blocked shots in a road victory at Tulsa on February 27.

FRESHMEN OF THE WEEK

Laila Blair * Guard * Houston

Blair was a key contributor to a 2-0 Houston week that featured an 18-point win against previous American unbeaten and No. 13 ranked USF. She averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game for the Cougars, shooting a combined .556 (10-of-18) for the week. Blair tallied 15 points, six boards, six assists and three steals in a road triumph at Wichita State on February 24 before going for 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting (3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line) with three rebounds and three steals against No. 13 USF on February 27.

JerKaila Jordan * Guard * Tulane

Jordan extended her American record with a seventh overall conference freshman of the week honor following her third straight game with 28 or more points scored in a 20-point win at Memphis on February 23. Jordan logged 29 points on 13-of-22 shooting (.591) to go along with four rebounds, a block and two steals against the Tigers. Her last three starts have featured 28 points against UCF, 29 points at No. 13 USF and 29 points at Memphis.

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Weekly Honor Roll

Courtajia Sanders * Senior * Guard * UCF

Sanders filled the stat sheet with 22 points, eight rebounds and four steals in a dominant UCF win over Temple; equaled the Owls' team point total (14) individually at the end of the first half

Krystal Freeman * Senior * Forward * Tulane

Freeman notched a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds in a dominant Tulane performance and win at Memphis; blocked a pair of shots and added a steal against the Tigers

Britney Onyeje * Redshirt-Sophomore * Guard * Houston

Onyeje averaged 10.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in a 2-0 Houston week; scored eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds (four offensive) in convincing win over No. 13 USF

Elena Tsineke * Sophomore * Guard * USF

Tsineke averaged 16.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest in a 1-1 week for No. 13 USF; scored 24 points in only 26 minutes of action at Houston

Synia Johnson * Freshman * Guard * East Carolina

Johnson logged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in a 1-1 split for ECU; shot .625 from the floor with matching 5-for-8 performances against Cincinnati and Memphis

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