AP Player of the Week: Arizona's Esmery Martinez helped team to road sweep of Stanford and Cal
![Arizona forward Esmery Martinez, right, grabs the ball in front...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AZDVkMTBiMzctMjU1Mi00%3AMzctMjU1Mi00ZmNhZDYy%2Farizona-stanford-basketball.jpeg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Arizona forward Esmery Martinez, right, grabs the ball in front of Arizona guard Courtney Blakely, left, and Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen, center, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
The Associated Press national player of the week in women's basketball for Week 16 of the season:
ESMERY MARTINEZ, ARIZONA
The 6-foot-2 fifth-year forward had 17 points and nine rebounds in the Wildcats' win over then-No. 3 Stanford. It was Arizona's first road win over the Cardinal since 2001. She followed that up with a 20-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist effort against California a few days later. Martinez also had no turnovers in that game.
RUNNER-UP
Angel Reese, LSU. She averaged 18 points and 17.5 rebounds in wins over Auburn and Tennessee. Reese started the week with 25 points and 20 rebounds against Auburn for her seventh 20/20 game in the past two seasons. She then had 11 points and 15 boards against the Lady Vols. Reese went over 2,000 career points in that game and became the fifth active player with 2,000 points and 1,000 career rebounds.
HONORABLE MENTION
Aaliyah Edwards, UConn; Liz Kitley, Virginia Tech; Kelsey Ransom, Georgetown .
![LSU students, including LSU women's basketball forward Angel Reese, left,...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AN2E2NmJjZjYtYmZlZC00%3AZjYtYmZlZC00ZDliZDcz%2Fkentucky-lsu-basketball.jpeg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D768%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
LSU students, including LSU women's basketball forward Angel Reese, left, rush the court after LSU forward Tyrell Ward (15) hit the game-winning shot against Kentucky in an NCAA college basketball game in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Credit: AP/Matthew Hinton
KEEP AN EYE ON
Dazia Lawrence, Charlotte. Led the 49ers to a pair of wins over first-place North Texas and Wichita State. She had 26 points, five rebounds and three steals in the road victory against North Texas. Lawrence added 22 points, eight assists and five boards against Wichita State.
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AP voters: Pat Eaton-Robb, Doug Feinberg, Pete Iacobelli, Hank Kurz, Janie McCauley, Joe Reedy, Teresa M. Walker, John Zenor.
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