KALAMAZOO, Mich – This week's Mid-American Conference women's basketball player of the week is Western Michigan sophomore guard Lauren Ross. This week's player of the week honors is the first won by a member of the Bronco program since January of 2017, when Breanna Mobley took it home.

Last week, WMU picked up two victories to extend their win streak to four straight games. First, the Broncos took on the Beacons of Valparaiso and won by a final score of 69-54. In the contest, Lauren Ross posted a new career-high with 27 points on 8-17 shooting (47.1 percent), and added three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. She also went perfect from the charity stripe, burying all seven of her foul shot attempts and posted a +/- rating of +15.

On the road at Indiana State, Ross had an unusually quiet first half, posting just one bucket and two points going into the locker room at the break. However, the third quarter belonged to Ross and only Ross as she tallied 18 points in the period alone. She was able to knock down six of her seven attempts from the field in the third, and recorded an unprecedented nine points in one single possession.

Following a made layup, Indiana State picked up a technical foul, sending Ross to the line for two attempts. She knocked down both attempts, but during her time at the line, ISU was assessed another technical foul, resulting in two more free throws for Ross. She, of course, capitalized on both of those as well. Because of the technicals, WMU was awarded possession following the foul shots, which resulted in Ross burying a three from a Gabi Saxman feed to push the Bronco lead to 15.

As the game went on, the Sycamores cut into the Western Michigan lead little by little, and the game ultimately came down to a difference of just one single point, and the Broncos emerged victorious by a final score of 68-67.

For the week, Lauren Ross averaged 26.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, and 1.0 SPG. From the field, Ross made 17 of her 30 attempts to finish the week shooting 56.6 percent. She also got 12 of her 13 attempts from the charity stripe to fall, shooting 92.3 percent for the week.

Ross and the Broncos gear up to take on the Titans of Detroit Mercy in Detroit this coming Wednesday, Dec. 8, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
#LetsRide