CHARLOTTE, N.C.- One day after being named the FCSAA State Player of the Week, Florida SouthWestern State sophomore Za'Nautica Downs was rewarded by the NJCAA for her record breaking performances last week as she was tabbed the NJCAA National Player of the Week, the Bucs first since Tina Stephens in January of 2018.
Downs exploded in a pair of FSW wins last week, first going off for a school record 41 points in a win over Hillsborough on Wednesday and backing that up with a 34 point performance at home against Daytona State on Saturday.
She was on fire Wednesday against the Hawks, going 9-10 from the field in the first half and scoring 21 points and then coming out in the second half to score the first 9 points of the period before sealing up the record later in the contest. She finished 16-24 from the field and 7-11 from the three point line, scoring 41 points in just 25 minutes of action. Saturday against Daytona, she answered the call again, shaking off a slow start to score 34 points and grabbing 5 rebounds while dishing out 4 assists as the Bucs came from behind to blow past the Falcons 94-78.
Downs leads the Bucs and ranks 5th in the state, averaging 18.2 points per game on the season. Like last week, when she has scored, she has scored in bunches, putting up eight 25+ point games and four 30+ point contests including last week.
She is the second FSW player all-time to receive National Player of the Week honors and first since Tina Stephens earned the honors in January of 2018.
Downs and the Bucs host Elite Prep Wednesday night at 5:30 in Suncoast Credit Union Arena before heading to Melbourne for a top 25 matchup with Eastern Florida State in Suncoast Conference action Saturday.