Monday, January 09, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 9, 2006) - Few have had a better start to 2006 than ETSU senior guard B.J. Banjo (Baltimore, Md.), who has been named the Atlantic Sun Women's Basketball Player of the Week, announced by Conference offices Monday.  Banjo garners the award for the second-consecutive week, and the third time this season.

The senior averaged 22.0 points per game in the Lady Bucs' three-win week, with victories over A-Sun foes Kennesaw State, North Florida, and Jacksonville.  Banjo's highest output came against Jacksonville, when she tallied a game-high 25 points, including a 21-point explosion in the second period.  For the week, she averaged 6.3 rebounds per game, and tallied 15 assists, along with nine steals. 

Banjo, the Conference's fourth-rated free-throw shooter (90.3), was sensational at the charity stripe all week, making an impressive 21-of-24 attempts (87.5).  The senior was especially clutch down the stretch in the eight-point win over Kennesaw State, draining four free throws in the game's final 22 seconds.  She also posted her first double-double of the season against KSU, with an 18-point, 10-rebound effort.

Banjo currently leads the A-Sun in scoring during conference tilts at 21.6 ppg, and is ranked second overall at 21.5. 

The guard also reached the 1,000-point milestone this week, passing the mark during the win over North Florida.  The senior, who needed only a single point to reach the feat going into the contest, surpassed the plateau on her way to netting a game-high 23 points.  Banjo, who is ranked 11^th in scoring in the NCAA, becomes the 14^th player in program history to reach the feat, and the second in the past calendar year as former teammate Tiffani Mayes eclipsed the barrier on Jan. 22, 2005.

Banjo and Lady Bucs (9-3, 5-0 A-Sun) will vie for their sixth-straight A-Sun win on Thursday, as Florida Atlantic visits Memorial Center for a 7 p.m. tipoff.  Banjo's 1,000-point accomplishment will be recognized prior to the start of the game.