This from the good folks down at IU Athletics:
THOMAS NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Junior Whitney Thomas earned her first career Big Ten Player of the Week honor after posting an impressive week for the Indiana women's basketball team.
Thomas collected three straight double-doubles helping IU to three consecutive wins over some of the toughest teams in the Big Ten. Against rival Purdue on Jan. 14, Thomas registered 17 points, 18 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals to help the Hoosiers knock off the Boilermakers by 12 points on the road.
She then powered the Hoosiers through a double overtime win against Minnesota in Assembly Hall on Jan. 17. Against the Gophers, Thomas collected 12 points, 17 rebounds and a blocked shot.
Two days later, Thomas helped IU get their second straight road win as she tallied 11 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and four assists. Her effort against the Spartans helped IU pick up their first win over Michigan State since Jan. 20, 2002.
On the week, the 6-foot post averaged 13.3 points, 15.7 boards, 2.3 steals, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per contest. She shot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) from the field.
Thomas also eclipsed the 700-career rebounds mark, tallying 47 over the course of three games. She has collected seven double-doubles on the season and 17 in her career, and has tallied double-digit boards nine times this year.
The Bloomington, Ind., native is the first Hoosier to earn the Big Ten weekly accolade since Cyndi Valentin earned the honor on Feb. 20, 2006.
As the release said, it's the first BTPOW honor for Thomas, who had double-doubles in all three games the Hoosiers played between Monday and Sunday of last week. Their record now standing at 5-2, the Hoosiers have proved their mettle against solid teams like Minnesota and Michigan State, and their conference record is good for second in the Big Ten.
They're on a three-game winning streak, and as it stands right now, the Hoosiers need just one more win to match last season's Big Ten total. We said earlier in the year that this season could be ripe for a team like IU to spring up and establish themselves with all the parity present in the conference.
Well, so far, they're doing that. But back to Thomas.
Let me throw a few more stats at you: Thomas is in the top 20 in the Big Ten in scoring, and she's just a tenth of a point off second in the conference in rebounding. She's third on her team in scoring and first in rebounding, and surprising though it may seem, she's tops on the team in steals with 44. That mark puts her in fifth place in the Big Ten in steals per game, just two spots behind teammate Kim Roberson (Thomas has played more games, but Roberson has more steals per game - less overall steals). She's also tops in the conference in offensive rebounding, averaging 3.53 boards a contest.
Thomas is averaging a double-double in Big Ten play - 12.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. She has seven double-double so far this season, 17 on her career, and she crossed over the 700-rebound mark with her performance last week.
Check back later today to see if the Hoosiers got any national attention for their three-game win streak, they'll release the Top 25 soon.
