UCA’s Howard, Baudoin earn weekly honors

University of Central Arkansas men’s basketball guard Jordan Howard and women’s basketball forward Taylor Baudoin both earned their second Southland Conference Player of the Week honor this week.

Howard, a senior from Chandler, Ariz., averaged 33.5 points per game in UCA’s two games last week and made 13 of 24 three-point attempts (54.2 percent). Howard, the nation’s No. 2 scorer at 24.8 points per game, tied his season high with 35 points in UCA’s loss at Oregon last Wednesday, hitting 8 of 9 from beyond the arc (88.9) and 12 of 17 overall (70.6). His eight three-pointers tied the Matthew Knight Arena record and his 35 points was one point short of tying the arena record.

He leads the Southland in three-pointers made this season with 53 and is third in the nation. He is also the active career leader in three-pointers in the country with 326, which is just five short of tying the Southland career record of 331 held by McNeese State’s Demond Mallett (1997-2001).

Baudoin, a senior from Columbus, Miss., was named MVP of the Florida International Holiday Classic as the Sugar Bears defeated Clemson and North Dakota State to claim the tournament championship. She averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds, shooting 65 percent from the field for the week, including 88.9 percent (8-9) against Clemson. She ranks sixth in the conference in scoring (14.5 points per game) and second in field-goal percentage (53.1, 68-128).

— Democrat-Gazette Press Services