Herbert Voted Southland Player of the Week for the 16th Time

Courtesy UCA Athletics Department

Prior to Saturday’s game against Northwestern State, Central Arkansas senior forward was presented with a plaque for breaking the school’s career rebounds record and the Southland Conference career free throws made record.

Then, just 12 seconds into the game, play was stopped for another presentation, this time Herbert receiving the game ball after she opened the contest with her 2,000th career point – making her just the seventh player in Southland Conference history to reach that mark and putting her alongside Baylor’s Brittney Griner as the only two active NCAA women’s basketball players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She also becomes just the third player in league history with more than 2,000 points and 1,200 rebounds, joining McNeese State’s Pat Jean (1980-83) and Northwestern State’s Joskeen Garner (1993-96).

On Monday, her week was capped by being voted as the Southland’s Player of the Week by the league’s Sports Information Directors for the second consecutive week, third time this season and the 16th time in her career.

In the wins over Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin, Herbert averaged 24 points and 7.5 rebounds and committed just one turnover while playing an average of 39 minutes per game to help the Sugar Bears remain as the league’s last team unbeaten in conference play.

She scored 20 first-half points on Thursday against SFA en route to 26 in all, leaving her just two points shy of the 2,000-point threshold. She wasted little time reaching it on Saturday, scoring on the first possession against the Lady Demons to become the fifth player ever at Central Arkansas to reach the 2,000-point mark. She finished Saturday’s game with 22 points as the Sugar Bears won their 25th regular season home game in a row to extend the nation’s third-longest home winning streak. 

Herbert was also selected as the Southland’s Player of the Week by College Sports Madness, marking the second week in a row and third time this season she earned that accolade.

The Sugar Bears will put their unblemished conference record on the line this week in a pair of road games as they travel to Sam Houston State on Thursday and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday. They will then return home for their next four, hosting McNeese State, Lamar, Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls.