UNC Wilmington women’s basketball beat both Colonial Athletic Association frontrunners James Madison and Towson at home last weekend. The wins cemented UNCW as a conference frontrunner for the first time in years.

On Tuesday, that week went from great to historic.

Redshirt senior guard Shrita Parker, fresh off a 37-point effort over the two games, has been named the United States Basketball Writers’ Association (USBWA) Player of the Week. She became the first UNCW player to be recognized in the award’s eight-year history.

Parker has been a revelation for the Seahawks (11-5, 4-1 CAA) this season, leading the team with 18.6 points per game on 41.6 percent shooting. She came up big in both wins last weekend, scoring 20 points and hitting the game-winning three-pointer against JMU on Friday before scoring 10 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter to sink Towson on Sunday.

The former Rutgers Scarlet Knight is also the third-leading scorer in the CAA and has reached double figures in 15 of UNCW’s 16 games. She has also scored at least 20 points six times this campaign.

The Seahawks earned national recognition this past week in what was the hallmark week of the Karen Barefoot era so far. Now with a weekend road trip to face both Delaware and Drexel ahead, it is up to the Seahawks to continue to stay grounded and continue improving from here on out.