Sophomore power forward Alnisa Hernaiz (Irvington, NJ/Irvington) of the women’s basketball team and sophomore point guard Dakwan Simmons (Newark, NJ/University) of the men’s basketball team are the New Jersey City University Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Week for the period of December 3-9, 2012. Hernaiz earns the award for the second time this season and seventh time in her career.
Alnisa Hernaiz
Hernaiz, who also earned the award on November 19, averaged a double-double last week as NJCU went 1-2, with its first home court win over Kean University in 14 years and a close road loss.
Hernaiz averaged 13.3 rebounds, 10.3 points, 3.3 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 assists per game while shooting .367 from the field (11-30) and .500 from the line (9-18) in 105 minutes over three starts. She totaled 40 rebounds—16 offensive and 24 defensive—with 31 points, 10 steals, four blocks and three assists.
In a 52-46 loss at Centenary College on December 3, Hernaiz grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds (eight offensive, 12 defensive) and added 10 points and four steals. She notched her second double-double of the season and 11th of her career while recording double figures in rebounds for the 20th time in her career; she exceeded 15 boards in a game for the fourth time.
Hernaiz’ 20 rebounds are the highest total in the New Jersey Athletic Conference this season and equal the largest total by any player in the league since January 3, 2011.
She became just the 15th known player in school history to notch 20 rebounds in a single game—something that has been accomplished a combined 33 times on record in the 43-year history of the program.
In a 10-point loss at Richard Stockton College on December 5 (63-53), Hernaiz poured in 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and had eight rebounds and two steals.
On December 8, in NJCU’s first win over Kean since February 4, 2006 and first home victory over the Cougars since February 17, 1999, Hernaiz seized a game-high 12 rebounds (eight defensive) and scored seven points with four steals, two blocks and two assists in 39 minutes before fouling out.
The win proved to be just the second home overtime victory in program history—its first since 1991—and the first ever against a Division III program. NJCU has only played five home overtime games in its history.
On the season through games of December 10, Hernaiz is averaging 10.6 rebounds, 9.7 points, 2.,3 steals, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 assists per game in nine games (nine starts), while shooting .411 from the field (37-90) in 272 minutes. She has tallied 95 total rebounds (34 offensive, 61 defensive), 87 points, 11 blocks and nine assists.
Among the NJAC leaders through December 10, she is No. 2 in the conference in rebounding average and defensive rebounds (6.8 per game). Hernaiz also ranks seventh in blocked shots, seventh in offensive rebounding (3.8 per game), eighth in steals, 10th in field goal percentage and minutes played and 20th in scoring.
ll?3 (?? our rebounds, four steals, three assists and one block while shooting 3-of-5 from three-point distance (.600) and .583 from the line (7-12).
On December 3 in a 60-50 road upset of #21 New York University—a win that snapped the Violets’ 24-game home court non-conference winning streak—he supplied seven points on 3-of-6 shooting and added three assists in 22 minutes. Two days later he collected seven points (3-5 FG) in 12 minutes in a 77-58 New Jersey Athletic Conference loss at unbeaten Richard Stockton College.
His best game was on December 8. In a 55-48 home court loss to rival Kean University, Simmons more than doubled his first-year career high for NJCU, finishing with a game-high 16 points, making 4-of-4 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 6-of-8 foul shooting in 16 minutes. Trailing by 10 late in the game, Simmons attempted to single-handedly rally the Knights, drilling a three with 1:38 left, before converting a steal into a fast break basket with 1:08 to play, slicing the deficit to 50-45.
For the season, Simmons is averaging 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game in eight games (four starts), while shooting .455 from the floor (15-33), .429 from three-point distance (3-7) and .643 at the line (9-14). He has tallied 42 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 steals in 128 minutes of action.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
