CEDAR CITY, Utah, Dec. 10 – Sophomore guard Hailey Mandelko has been named the Big Sky Conference player of the week after leading Southern Utah to back-to-back wins on the road last week. She becomes the first member of the SUU women’s basketball team to receive the award in its new league.


Mandelko averaged 19.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on the two-game road swing. She also shot 46 percent from the field and 50 percent from three while going 6-8 from the foul line. Mandelko scored 11 points as the T-Birds knocked off in-state rival Utah Valley on Thursday, then came back two days later with a career-high 27 to help SUU down San Jose State for a 93-82 win on the road.
 
In the victory over the Spartans, Mandelko was 6-10 from the outside to help Southern Utah tie its program record with 15 three-point field goals. She also dished out four assists in the game and recorded three steals.
 
So far on the season, Mandelko is leading the T-Birds with an average of 14.7 points/game and is shooting 46 percent from the floor as well as 47 percent from three, a mark that currently ranks her 13th in the nation. She is also 11-16 from the free throw line and has nine steals on the year.
 
Mandelko shares the weekly honor with North Dakota center Emily Evers who posted a pair of double-doubles to help UND to wins over Air Force and Creighton. The SUU guard also picked up recognition from College Sports Madness, being named their Big Sky Player of the Week.
 
Southern Utah will host a basketball doubleheader next Monday as the women face Houston Baptist in the Centrum Arena at 5 p.m. and the men will open Big Sky play against North Dakota immediately after.