Bowling Green, KY – Coming off one of her strongest weeks of the season, junior Hannah Lawson capped off her standout performance by earning the MSC women's basketball Player of the Week honors, announced by the conference office Monday.  It marks the first time in her career that the London, KY native notched this award.

Lawson led UC to a 3-0 record on the week, including a 60-46 win over 24^th-ranked Bethel, to become the first Patriot since Vilma Covane on December 18, 2019 to earn this recognition.  The junior averaged 13.0 points, shot 59.1% from the field, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 rebounds per game on the week.

The guard opened the week tallying 10 points, on 4-6 shooting, in 39 minutes against Pikeville.  Lawson scored seven of her ten points in the first half to help UC take a 35-29 lead at the break.  She followed that up with a 17 point, five assist performances as the Patriots took down #24 Bethel 60-46.  The 17 points where a season-high for Lawson, while it marks the third time this season that Lawson has dished out at least five assists in a game.

Lawson capped off the week with 12 points, three assists, and a steal against Freed-Hardeman.  She went 4-8 from the field, including draining 2-3 from behind-the-arc.  With the Patriots trailing 24-26 in the second quarter, Lawson hit a big three-pointer to put UC back in front.  Her final three came in the closing minutes of the game as that shot extended Cumberlands lead to 69-60 and improve UC's record to 10-2 on the year.

For the season, Lawson is averaging 9.9 points and 2.2 assist per game and ranks second on the team in both categories.  She has also tallied at least ten points in three straight games and six times this season.

The Patriots will return to the court Thursday, January 14, when they travel to Lebanon, TN to face Cumberland.  Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. with live stats available here and live video available here.

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