IRVING, Texas — BYU freshman Kailey Woolston was named the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week after leading all conference freshmen in scoring at 18.5 points per game for the week. In two games Woolston led the Cougars in minutes played (34.3), scoring (18.5), field goal percentage (.667) and three-point percentage (.615).
“I am super impressed with how Kailey has handled her first four games with so much poise,” said BYU head coach Amber Whiting. “Kailey has been asked to do a lot while Nani [Falatea] has been out, and I couldn’t be more proud of how she has played. She is obviously shooting and scoring the ball extremely well, but she is also impacting the game on the glass and by getting her teammates involved as well."
Woolston has scored in double figures in each of her first four career games and recorded her first career double-double against Utah Valley on Tuesday. The freshman led BYU in scoring with 19 points, going 7-of-11 from the field and 4-for-7 from behind the loop. She also grabbed 10 rebounds, while adding an assist and a steal in the 59-44 win over the Cougars' cross-town rival.
In the opening game of the Hawaii North Shore Classic against ACC foe Wake Forest, Woolston again led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points on a 70 percent clip, going 4-for-6 from downtown. The Highland, Utah native also recorded six rebounds and an assist to lift BYU to a 67-44 win, its fourth-straight win to open the season.
The Big 12 Freshman of the Week is averaging 16.5 points per game on a 60 percent clip through four games. Her field goal percentage is good for 50th best in the NCAA. She is also shooting 51.9 percent from three-point land, the 62nd-best mark in the country with only five players ahead of her registering more three-point attempts.
Woolston’s Big 12 Freshman of the Week award is the first Big 12 weekly honor for any BYU basketball player on the men’s or women’s side.