Dec. 12, 2011

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV's Lenita Sanford was named the Mountain West Women's Basketball Player of the Week after leading the Lady Rebels to a 46-44 road victory at UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 10, the league office announced on Monday. Sanford earns player of the week honors for the second time this season and the second time in her career, and she is the third Lady Rebel to earn the award this season. Sanford was also named the College Sports Madness Mountain West Player of the Week as well on Monday.

A 6-3 senior and native of Inglewood, Calif., Sanford scored 12 of her game-high 17 points in the second half to lead the Lady Rebels to their eighth win of the year. She finished the afternoon shooting 8-of-17 from the floor against the Gauchos, who came into the game with the 19th-ranked scoring defense in the nation. Sanford grabbed 10 rebounds for her league-high third double-double of the year, and she also tied her career-high with four blocks. Currently, she ranks 26th in the nation with 2.5 blocks per game..

UNLV, 8-2 on the season, returns to action this weekend as it hosts the BTI Invitational in the Cox Pavilion, a three-day round robin event. The Lady Rebels will begin play on Sunday, Dec. 18, with a 5 pm contest against Northwestern.