PacWest Weekly Awards (Feb. 28)

IRVINE, Calif. – Leading a strong Academy of Art women's basketball defensive front that earned two wins and capped the week by holding Fresno Pacific to the program's lowest point total for a single quarter, junior guard Lauryn Manns was named Pacific West Conference Player of the Week. The award is for games played from Feb. 21-27.

Starting with a Senior Night matchup hosting Biola with major PacWest Championship Tournament seeding implications, Manns matched her career-high with six steals with five coming in the second half. She added two blocks as ART U defeated the Eagles 77-64 on Feb. 24. Two days later in a rematch with FPU on Feb. 26, the Communications & Media Technologies major added another block, three more steals, and was on the floor for all but 20 seconds of the Urban Knights' fourth quarter where just five points were allowed. 

The week, which ended with Academy of Art elevating from fifth to third in the PacWest standings, saw Manns average 4.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. She finished the regular season ranked 15th in the PacWest in steals per game (1.7) and 19th in blocks per game (0.4).

This is the first PacWest weekly honor for Manns this season and the second in her career. It's the sixth for Academy of Art women's basketball in 2021-22 with junior guard Chanel Stuart's previous two selections on Jan. 17 and Jan. 10, freshman forward/center Alisha Wilson receiving two as well (Nov. 27, Dec. 13), and graduate student guard Joy Krupa's Nov. 22 award.