Nov. 14, 2011

LAS VEGAS (UNLV - UNLV's Kelli Thompson was named the Mountain West Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday morning after leading the Lady Rebels to a 2-0 start, including a win over Iowa in the championship game of the Iowa Hawkeye Challenge, the league office announced on Monday. Thompson earns player of the week honors for the second time in her career, and she is the first Lady Rebel to earn weekly honors since February of 2010. Sandrine Nzeukou was also recognized on Monday, as she was College Sports Madness' choice for Mountain West Player of the Week.

Thompson, a 6-0 junior forward and native of Compton, Calif., earned Tournament MVP honors at Iowa Hawkeye Challenge after averaging 21 points over the two contests. In the championship game against the host Iowa squad on Nov. 13, she scored a game-high 26 points, including 15 during a decisive 21-5 run midway through the second half, that turned an 8-point deficit into an 8-point lead on the way to a 69-59 victory. She finished the game against Iowa shooting 10-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-9 from three-point range. The loss for Iowa was only its sixth in the 26-year history of the tournament. The day before saw Thompson again score in double-figures, posting 16 points in a 23-point win over Butler on Nov. 12, 62-39.

Nzeukou, a 6-2 forward/center from Tucson, Ariz., averaged a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds over the weekend for the Lady Rebels. She posted 21 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Butler, and followed that with 13 points and 15 rebounds in the win over Iowa. She finished the weekend shooting 55.6% (10-of-18) from the floor, and was 14-of-16 from the line for 87.5%.

UNLV returns to action on Wednesday with the first of five straight home games, starting against UC Riverside at 7 pm.