Jazmine Perkins Named Pac-12 Player of the Week: A Fan's Reaction

It was an amazing week for Jazmine Perkins of Washington State University. For the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1, Perkins got named the Pac-12 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week. The honor came from two games that the Cougars played against the Oregon schools to open the Pac-12 conference part of the schedule.

Playing against the Oregon Ducks on Dec. 29, Perkins had 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals for the Cougars. It helped lead the team to a 75-47 win in the Pac-12 opener, putting the Cougars on a great road for success this year. She followed that up with 11 points and 15 rebounds against the Oregon State Beavers on Dec. 31 to help the team post a 2-0 record in the first week of conference games.

Over the week, Perkins averaged 13 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4 steals in each of the games against the Oregon schools. Her averages on the season are now at 9.4 points, 8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3 steals per game over 24.6 minutes a night. She has played much better in the past three games though, posting double-doubles in all three of them, including against No. 11 Ohio State on Dec. 22.

Perkins is one of the reasons that the Cougars are doing so well this year and have gotten off to a blistering start in conference games. There are still 16 conference games left to play, but starting out the season at 2-0 is definitely the way to get a good seed in the Pac-12 postseason tournament. Now the team has some momentum as they head home for games against Utah, Colorado and then the Washington Huskies as Beasley Coliseum.

Tough conference games are coming up as well, because WSU has to play No. 4 Stanford on the road Jan. 19. Colorado is also still undefeated at 12-0, so that game is a really tough one no matter where it gets played. Beating Oregon (9-5) and Oregon State (10-3) certainly proved that the Cougars can beat good teams this year though, and it already has the team tied for first place in the conference during the first week.

Last year WSU finished 8-23 overall (6-12 in Pac-12), so the 8 wins that the team has in the 2011-12 season already matches all of last year. Strides are being made in this program and hopes of a season with a better than .500 record are starting to get realized.

Sources:

Complete WSU Statistics

Main WSU Women's Basketball Page