IRVING, Texas — Southern Mississippi center Kelsey Jones and redshirt junior forward Leonard Harper-Baker received individual honors from Conference USA on Monday.
Jones, a standout from Starkville High School, was named the league’s women’s Freshman of the Week, while Harper-Baker was named the conference’s men’s player of the week.
Jones earned the accolade after a successful road trip to Western Kentucky and Marshall. Against the Lady Toppers, Jones had her third double-double of the season (14 points, 13 rebounds). She also had two assists, two blocked shots, and two steals. At Marshall, she had eight points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal.
“Congratulations to Kelsey Jones,” Southern Miss coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. “It’s so fun to watch these young players grow right before our eyes. You watch them develop as young people, as students, and as players. Kelsey has gotten better and better with every practice. She has continued to buy in to what we’re trying to do and contributing to the team. Her ability to score the basketball and her ability to rebound that gives us a mainstay inside. We just need her to continue to make progress and I think she’ll be a true difference maker for us down the stretch.”
Harper-Baker continued to prove himself as one of the most valuable newcomers in C-USA, averaging 16.5 points and 14.5 rebounds for Southern Miss against WKU and Marshall. The last Golden Eagle to have 29 or more rebounds in two games was Charles Gaines in February 2004. Harper-Baker’s outburst also came on the heels of a 14-rebound performance at ODU on Saturday.
The Southern Miss (11-10, 3-5 C-USA) women will play host to Florida International at 6 p.m. Thursday at Reed Green Coliseum.
The Southern Miss men (12-9, 4-5) will fly to the Sunshine State this week to play FIU on Thursday and Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
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