WSU forward Dayana Mendes was named WCC Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week on Monday, marking the first weekly award for the team this season.

Mendes, who is recovering from an undisclosed injury, played the best three-game stretch of her young career last week, averaging 12 points and five rebounds including a career-high 16 points and her first double-double against Norfolk State on Thanksgiving Day. Mendes also shot 46.4% from the field and 75% on free throws while helping the Cougs to two wins in the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout.

The Paris native has rapidly increased her role since her first game in early November, playing 20 minutes off the bench in two games last week and earning her first career start against Drake on Saturday. Just a couple of games into the season, head coach Kamie Ethridge expressed her desire to work Mendes back from her injury and take advantage of her young forward’s versatility.

“We’re glad to have her back because her potential is limitless and she can play in different spots on the floor,” Ethridge said. “She can play with the big, she can be our big. So we just got to be careful with her as we grow her minutes, and it’ll be good to just keep getting her back in the gym and making sure she’s learning so that she can help us.”

Mendes signed with WSU in April as a member of an entirely international recruiting class. She is one of nine foreign players on the roster. Mendes won a championship with the French club Charnay in the LF2 league before joining the Cougs.

Forward Tara Wallack, the team’s only senior, was also among the nominees for WCC Player of the Week. Wallack averaged 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds during the same three games while shooting 94.1% from the free throw line on nearly six attempts per game. She scored a season-high 22 points against Norfolk State, one shy of tying her career-high. Wallack also smashed her previous career mark of four blocks by getting seven in her season-best performance last Thursday.