If you thought choosing the HBCU Players of the Week would be easier after a hotly contested Week 1, you were wrong.
As we settle into the 2024-25 college basketball season, it’s pretty clear this is going to be a competitive race every week. We’ve partnered with Urban Edge Network to highlight the best players in HBCU Division I men’s and women’s basketball each week.
And a couple of players who were contenders in Week 1 upped their game enough to win the Players of the Week in Week 2.
Without further ado, here are the Men’s and Women’s Players of the Week for Nov. 11-17.
Men’s Player of the Week: KC Shaw, Maryland Eastern Shore
Ketron “KC” Shaw opened the season with a strong first week, scoring at least 23 points in each of his first three games. But his two games this past week were even better, as he had his two highest-scoring games of the season.
In an 88-70 loss to Miami (OH), Shaw’s hot start kept the Hawks in the game until Miami pulled away in the second half. He poured in 15 points in the first half as Maryland Eastern Shore went into the locker room down just 42-38.
Shaw ended the game with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Cardell Bailey and Shaw did the heavy lifting on offense, combining for 48 of the team’s 70 points. Shaw also chipped in four assists, his third straight game with at least four.
In his second game of the week, Shaw was even better with a season-high 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting in a tough 73-71 loss to Old Dominion. He went 9 of 10 from the free-throw line and scored the final four points for the Hawks as they cut a six-point deficit to two with under a minute left. Old Dominion escaped with the win, but Shaw was the best player on the floor.
With at least 23 points in every game so far this season, Shaw ranks third in the nation in scoring among qualifiers at 25.8 points per game. This may be his first award, but with the way he’s been able to score, it might not be his last.
Women’s Player of the Week: Laila Lawrence, Coppin State
Coppin State had an incredibly tough couple of games to end the week, but that allowed Lawrence to prove she belonged on the floor with some of the best players in the country.
The Eagles started the week with a dominating 74-38 win over St. Francis (PA), and Lawrence tallied a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. It was Lawrence’s second straight double-double, continuing a trend from last year when she had 15.
After the win to open the week, Coppin State dropped a 92-60 game to No. 1 South Carolina, but Lawrence had a season-high 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists against the best team in the country. She was the second-leading scorer in the game and hit four of Coppin State’s nine 3-pointers in the contest.
Lawrence scored 20 again in an 86-51 loss to Virginia Tech to close out the week. Coppin State now sits at 2-3 on the year, but Lawrence has averaged 18.7 points in those three losses – all to power conference teams.
She now leads the MEAC in points per game despite a tough schedule to start the year, and her extended range has made her even more deadly. She’s hit seven 3-pointers in her last four games, and that matches her total from all of last year.
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