Jan. 28, 2008

USC freshmen Kari LaPlante of the women's basketball team and O.J. Mayo of the men's basketball team were named USC's Wells Fargo Student-Athletes of the Week today (Jan. 28) for the week of Jan. 21-27.

LaPlante, a center from Glendale, Ariz., helped lead the Women of Troy to victories at home over Oregon State and Oregon by registering her first two double-digit scoring efforts of the season. On Jan. 24 vs. Oregon State she scored a career-high 13 points - all in the second half - and had three rebounds in 17 minutes. Against Oregon on Jan. 26, LaPlante again scored all of her points (10) after halftime. She made 10 of the 16 shots (62.5 percent) she took during the week.

Mayo, a guard from Huntington, W.V., helped lead USC to a road sweep in Oregon, defeating the OSU Beavers 68-44 and the Oregon Ducks 95-86 in overtime. Mayo led USC with 19 points and five assists at Oregon State and led the Trojans with eight rebounds and a season-best five three-pointers made, while finishing with 25 points in the win at Oregon. Mayo averaged 22 points, 6 rebounds and four assists in the two games.

Kari LaPlante

O.J. Mayo