Nov. 19, 2007

AMHERST, Mass. - UMass women's basketball player Kate Mills (Elkton, Md.) was named Atlantic 10 Conference Co-Player of the Week on Monday for her efforts in the Minutewomen's two games last week. The senior forward, who was a preseason second team All-Atlantic 10 selection, averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.0 blocks and shot 60 percent from the field in a week that saw UMass go 1-1. On Wednesday, the Minutewomen defeated Boston College, 69-66, for their first win over the Eagles since 1995. On Saturday, UMass suffered its first loss of the season, at Northeastern, 86-81. Mills shares this week's honor with La Salle senior forward Carlene Hightower.

On Wednesday Nov. 14 at the Mullins Center, Mills netted 16 points with six rebounds, four assists, and four blocks in 36 minutes of action to help lead the Minutewomen past Boston College. It was UMass' second-ever win over an Atlantic Coast Conference team.

In Saturday Nov. 17's game in Boston, Mills tied her career-high with 28 points in a loss to Northeastern at Solomon Court. The UMass captain shot 13-of-19 from the floor, had four rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals in an all-round performance.

Mills currently leads the team in scoring and is fourth in the A-10 averaging 18.7 points per game. She is third in the conference in field goal percentage at .587 (teammate Stefanie Gerardot is first at .625) and second in blocked shots, averaging 2.67 per game. Mills has totaled 1,059 points in a career that has spanned 90 games.

Last season, Mills was twice named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week.

The Minutewomen (2-1) return to action Friday and Saturday Nov. 23-24 at the East Carolina Lady Pirate Invitational, where they will take on the Jacksonville University Dolphins in the first round at 7p.m. Both UMass games will be broadcast on WMUA 91.1 FM and on UMassAthletics.com.