Sidney Cook Named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week
12/30/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2013
NEW YORK - Seton Hall University redshirt freshman forward Sidney Cook (Parkton, N.C.) was named the BIG EAST Conference Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week Monday it was announced by the league office, after recording a double-double with 11 points and a team-high 14 rebounds in her BIG EAST debut at St. John's on Saturday afternoon.
It is the first time in her career Cook has received a BIG EAST Conference weekly honor and she is the first Seton Hall student-athlete to be named the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week since Kandice Green on Feb. 9, 2009. Additionally, Cook is the third Seton Hall student-athlete to be recognized by the conference so far this year; the Pirates have seen a student-athlete receive a BIG EAST weekly accolade for six-consecutive weeks dating back to Nov. 25.
Cook impressed in her first conference game at St. John's, a 72-63 Seton Hall loss, notching the second double-double of her career behind 11 points on five field goals and a game-high 14 rebounds, just one shy of her career-high of 15 set on two previous occasions. She also finished with a pair of steals and a blocked shot in 33 minutes of action.
It marked the third time this season Cook has scored in double figures but the sixth-straight game she has reached double figures in rebounding. Since returning to the starting lineup against Savannah State on Nov. 29, Cook is averaging 13.7 rebounds per game and she leads Seton Hall with 11.9 boards per contest overall. Her 9.9 points per game rank fourth for Seton Hall.
Cook missed three games early in the season due to injury and does not yet rank in the BIG EAST in rebounds per game because she has not played in 75 percent of the Pirates' contests (she currently stands at 72.7 percent), but her 11.9 rebounding average would currently rank second in the league.
With 14 points and 14 rebounds in 40 minutes on the floor Cook recorded the first double-double of her career in a win over Fresno State on Nov. 30. She set a career-high with 15 boards against UMass Lowell on Dec. 7, and matched that total in a win over NJIT on Dec. 21.
Seton Hall returns to action on New Year's Eve, as the Pirates close out the non-conference portion of their schedule against Stony Brook University on Tuesday afternoon in Walsh Gymnasium at 12 p.m. Seton Hall resumes conference play this Saturday, Jan. 4, when it welcomes Butler University to South Orange for the first time. Game time against the Bulldogs is also set for 12 p.m.
