Sydness Posts Triple-Double to Earn First Player of the Week Honors

St. Louis, Mo. - The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) has announced the men's and women's basketball athletes of the week for February 6-12.

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Eureka College's Mark Lessen, a junior from Delavan, Ill., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of February 6-12. This marks the second time this season that he has earned the honor.

Lessen, a 6-7 center, averaged a double-double with 24.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in two games played last week. He also averaged 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals, while shooting 18-of-21 (.857) from the field and 12-of-13 (.923) from the free throw line.

Lessen scored 33 points on 12-of-13 (.923) shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 (.900) from the charity stripe in a 99-70 non-conference win over Lincoln Christian University. He also grabbed 15 rebounds and tallied two steals in the win. In conference action, Lessen recorded 15 points, six rebounds and a personal career-best five blocked shots in an 86-71 victory versus Fontbonne University. He shot 6-of-8 (.750) from the field, a perfect 3-of-3 (1.000) from the line and had two steals and one assist.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Principia College's Lindsay Sydness, a senior from Wellesley Hills, Mass., has been named the Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of February 6-12.

Sydness, a 6-1 center, recorded a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 17 blocks in a 49-37 loss to Webster University in conference play. The 17 blocks is a school and SLIAC record, breaking the old record of 11 blocks set by Sydness last season. Sydness added a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds in Principia's 53-29 win over St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

Sydness averaged a double-double for the week with 15.5 points and 13.0 rebounds. She was just shy of averaging a triple-double with 9.0 blocks for the week. In addition to her blocked shots on the defensive end, Sydness also hit the boards, tallying 22 of her 26 rebounds for the week on the defensive end.