Tuesday, November 22, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – After leading Central Washington to a pair of wins at the Westminster (Utah) Tournament and dropping a 37-point performance on MSU Denver, Wildcats’ sophomore guard Valerie “Sunshine” Huerta has been named the Division II Conference Information Directors Association’s (D2CIDA) Women’s Basketball Player of the Week.

Huerta averaged 27.5 points per game in the two victories, shooting 64.5% from the field and 66.7% percent from three-point range and was a perfect 9 for 9 from the free-throw line.

On Friday, Huerta blistered the Roadrunners for 37 points on 14 of 19 from the field, 6 of 7 from three-point range and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line in the 95-76 victory. She also had a rebound, three assists and a steal in 29 minutes of action.

Huerta played all 40 minutes in the Wildcats’ 87-76 win over the host Griffins on Saturday, finishing with 18 points on 6 of 12 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line to go with a rebound, four assists and a steal.

After four games, Huerta ranks third in the GNAC in scoring with 20.3 points per game and leads the conference with 4.8 assists per game. She also ranks third with a .923 free-throw percentage, having made 12 of 13 on the season. Huerta ranks 24th in Division II with 19 total assists and 34th in points per game.

Huerta and Central Washington will put the team’s 4-0 record on the line in Colorado this weekend at the Regis Thanksgiving Classic, taking on Colorado Mines on Friday and the host Rangers on Saturday.