Dec. 19, 2007

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - For the second time this season, Villanova University junior forward Laura Kurz has been named Philadelphia Big Five Player of the Week. Kurz earns the award for her efforts last week versus Massachusetts and Binghamton.

In the two wins over Massachusetts and Binghamton, Kurz was a combined 15-of-22 from the field (68.1%) and 10-of-12 from three-point range (83.3%) en route to 41 points. She also added nine rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists in the wins. Her best performance of the two games came versus Binghamton on Dec. 13 when she tallied a career-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, including an impressive 8-of-9 effort from three-point range.

After 11 games this season, she is averaging 15.3 points per game and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest. She is shooting a team-high 56.0 percent from the field (65-of-116) and a team-best 52.5 percent from three-point range (21-of-40).

Kurz and the 9-2 Wildcats return to action on Friday, Dec. 21 with a road game at Temple. With a win over the Owls, Villanova will win the 2007-08 Philadelphia Big Five title with a 4-0 mark. The Wildcats have already posted wins over La Salle, Penn and Saint Joseph's.