Cuyamaca’s Banks is PCC Women’s Athlete of Week

DEC. 29, 2008 - Cuyamaca College basketball player Crisela Banks has been selected by the Pacific Coast Conference as its Women’s Athlete of the Week for the week that ended on Sunday.

Banks, a 5-foot-6 freshman guard from El Capitan High School, pumped in 28 points on Sunday evening as she led the Coyotes to a 76-55 rout of College of the Desert in the Coyote Holiday Classic at Cuyamaca.

Honorable mention for the week went to Palomar basketball players Kristin Marquardt and Nicole Wilhite, and Grossmont basketball players Ashley McWhorter and LaKenya Simon-West.

Marquardt, a 6-foot-0 sophomore forward from El Camino High School, scored 22 points, going 7-for-9 on field goals and 8-for-10 on free throws, as the state No. 4-ranked Comets opened play in the Fullerton College Women’s Holiday Tournament with a 71-61 victory over College of San Mateo. She came back to tally 12 points as the Comets defeated Riverside Community College 76-68 in the semifinals.

Marquardt’s performance helped put the Comets’ into Monday evening’s finals against three-time defending state champion Mt. SAC.

Wilhite, a 6-foot-1 sophomore forward from Temescal Canyon High School in Elsinore, scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds against San Mateo. She tallied 15 points vs. Riverside.

McWhorter, a 5-foot-10 freshman center from Serra High School, contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 77-63 win over Bakersfield and tallied 11 points in a 59-58 victory over Saddleback as the Griffins won the 26^th Annual Grossmont College Holiday Tournament.

Simon-West, a 5-foot-9 sophomore guard from Grossmont High School and a transfer from the University of Idaho, scored 29 points in the Bakersfield game.

An individual may be selected as Athlete of the Week only once in her sport’s season, but may receive honorable mention an unlimited number of times.

PCC 2008-2009 WOMEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK