Huerta, Claw share Player of the Week

Hawaii Pacific’s Kylie Huerta and BYU-Hawaii’s Celeste Claw shared the PacWest Player of the Week award after helping their respective teams remain atop the league standings.

Huerta, a senior guard from Covington, Wash., bolstered the Sharks’ run to remain atop the PacWest at 12-0 by averaging 12 points and 7.3 assists per game in three HPU victories. Her 22 assists posted over the weekend boosted Huerta’s season total to 134, which broke HPU’s single-season record of 130 previously held by Taiyande Huskey in 2011-12. Huerta also leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.9) and is fourth with 7.1 assists per game.

Claw, a junior guard from Page, Ariz., helped guide the second-place Seasiders (9-2) to three wins in Northern California and helped the squad tie the program record with seven consecutive victories. She averaged 13 points and 6.7 assists per game, and ranks behind Huerta within the PacWest in both assists per game (6.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6).

Mackenzie picks up sixth weekly honor

Hawaii Pacific basketball player Breanna Mackenzie was honored as the conference’s Freshman of the Week, the guard’s sixth weekly honor this season.

Mackenzie, a native of Melbourne, Australia, is averaging 10.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Johnson recognized for stellar defense

Hawaii Hilo guard Tre Johnson earned Defensive Player of the Week honors thanks in part to a six-block effort in a come-from-behind, overtime victory at Fresno Pacific.

In the 88-85 triumph over Fresno, Johnson, a junior from Reno, Nev., also racked up 25 points and 16 rebounds. Over a three-game stretch during which the Vulcans went 2-1, Johnson averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game to close out UH Hilo’s Northern California road trip.