Jan. 22, 2007

FULLERTON, CA - Cal State Fullerton sophomore Toni Thomas has been named the Big West Conference women's basketball player of the week after helping the Titans to a pair of league wins over Long Beach State and UC Irvine the league office announced on Monday.

Thomas, who also won the award after back-to-back wins over Colorado and Northern Colorado in early December, averaged 23.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game last week while shooting .545 from the field and .833 (10-for-12) from the free throw line.

Against Long Beach State, Thomas narrowly missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds in Fullerton's 68-57 victory over the 49ers, helping the Titans snap a two-game losing streak.

Two night's later, the Big West's leading scorer put her offensive prowess on display against the Anteaters, pouring in a career-high 29 points to go with seven rebounds in Fullerton's 14-point victory. Thomas hit on 11-of-15 from the floor (73 percent) and 7-of-8 from the free throw line while extending her double-digit scoring streak to nine consecutive games.

The 29 points for Thomas were the most for a Titan in a single game since Amber Pruitt notched 29 against Pacific on March 4, 2004.

Thomas and Cal State Fullerton take a break from Big West Conference play this week as the Titans travel north to take on future league rival UC Davis on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 27) at 2 p.m.