Around the region

• UConn guard Stephon Castle earned his third Big East freshman of the week honor after helping the Huskies beat DePaul and win at Butler. He averaged 14 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

Teammate Alex Karaban made the honor roll after averaging 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

The Huskies remained at No. 4 in the recent Associated Press top 25 poll.

In women’s basketball, UConn’s Ashlynn Shade was named the Big East freshman of the week for the third time after averaging 17 points and three rebounds while shooting 60% from the field in two wins.

The Huskies have had a league freshman of the week award winner eight times in the season’s first nine weeks.

Paige Bueckers made the Big East honor roll, averaging 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.5 steals last week.

UConn fell from No. 12 to No. 13 in this week’s AP top 25 poll despite going 2-0 last week, including beating No. 21 Creighton.

• Kayla Park (Norwich Free Academy) was named to the 2023 Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-American second team. A junior midfielder, Park led Rollins, which is located in Winter Park, Fla., in goals (11), assists (eight), points (20) and game-winning goals (four) last fall while helping her team earn an NCAA tournament berth.

• Julianna Bonilla (Waterford) contributed nine points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal in the Southern Connecticut State University women’s basketball team’s 65-50 win over Saint Michael’s College on Saturday. With the wins, the Owls climbed to 7-6 overall.

• At Western Connecticut State University, juniors Alyssa Virtue (Fitch), Nicole Peralta (Windham) and Francesca Foster (Fitch) helped the women’s basketball team beat the City College of New York, 90-41, on Dec. 29. Virtue had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks while Peralta added 12 points and Foster chipped in two points and three rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

• Central Connecticut State University sophomore Nuchwara Inthasit (Stonington) placed second in the 60 meters at the Wagner College Invite Friday, posting a time of eight seconds, and ran a leg on the winning 4x400 relay team that crossed the line at four minutes, 11.56 seconds.

• Freshman guard Julia Knowles (Waterford) chipped in six points, three rebounds and two assists for the Eastern Connecticut State University women’s basketball team in a 75-45 loss at Wheaton on Saturday.

Also at Eastern, freshman Pedro Perry (New London) scored a season-high 13 points off the bench and made two 3-pointers to key a decisive early second half run in the men’s basketball team’s 87-79 upset of Wesleyan in the program’s Holiday Invitational championship game on Dec. 30.

• Forward Taina Pagan (New London) had six points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Post University women’s basketball team in a 72-68 overtime win over Holy Family University on Saturday. She is averaging a career-best 9.4 points and 9.8 rebounds through 12 games.

Camel highlights

• Connecticut College senior David Murray earned New England Small College Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week after helping the Camels win two conference games. He averaged 20.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, four blocks, 2.5 steals and two assists while shooting 52.8% from the field.

Murray is only the second Camel to earn that distinction three times in his career in men’s basketball, joining Matt Vadas on the short list.

“This is a great honor for David, and we continue to be excited about his improvements on the court and as a leader,” coach Tim Sweeney said in a release.

Murray is first in the conference in blocks at 2.5 per game, third in field goal percentage (58.2%) fourth in rebounding (9.2) and sixth in scoring (16.5 points).

Through two league games, the Camels(11-3, 2-0) are locked in a three way tie for first place.

Tracking the Bears

• Coast Guard Academy sophomore Mitch Shettles is one of the top 3-point shooters in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference. He converts 2.2 shots from beyond the arc per game, ranking second in the league. He is the team’s leading scorer at 12.2 points. Cameron Brown is first in the league with 2.1 blocks per game.

The Bears carry an 8-4 record overall into this week’s action.

• The women’s basketball team is off to a strong 11-2 start. The Bears, who’ve won sixth straight, open NEWMAC play on Wednesday at Wesleyan. Sophomore Dorothy Stotts is averaging at team-best 15.3 points per game while junior Kelly Hagerty is contributing 12.8 points and a team-best 8.7 rebounds.

Mariners riding a wave

• Mitchell College junior Jaylyn Clady is powering the offense for the men’s basketball team, averaging 18.5 points per game, third in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. He scored 18 points in his team’s first league win on Saturday, 67-62, against Johnson & Wales. The Mariners are 3-9 overall, 1-1 in the GNAC.

• In women’s basketball, Yasmine Santos, a senior from Pawtucket, R.I., ranks second in the league in scoring (21.8 points) and rebounding at 12.6.

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