Arella Guirantes & Diamond Johnson sweep Big Ten Weekly Honors

Last week, the Rutgers women’s basketball team lost by 4 points to no. 14 Maryland before winning two non-conference games over Hampton and Sacred Heart. Standout performances from Arella Guirantes and Diamond Johnson earned both players weekly honors on Monday. Guirantes was named espnW National Player of the Week and the Big Ten Player of the Week, while Johnson was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Guirantes won the Big Ten award for the third time in her career after averaging 27.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.3 blocks in three games. She scored 33 points and grabbed 10 boards in the loss to Maryland and continues to be an even more complete player this winter for the Scarlet Knights. Guirantes is currently third in the Big Ten in scoring and 15th nationally by averaging 24.2 points per game.

Johnson continues to live up to the hype as a former 5-star recruit by winning the program’s first ever Big Ten Freshman of the Week award since joining the conference seven seasons ago. She averaged 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.3 steals in three games last week. Johnson has scored in double figures in all five games this season and has given Rutgers another offensive weapon to pair with Guirantes.

Rutgers is 4-1 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten play to begin the season. They return to action on Wednesday, December 23 against Manhattan at 12 p.m. ET at the RAC before going on the road to play Iowa on Thursday, December 31 at 3 p.m. ET.