12/5/2006 - (Riverdale, NY) - For the second time during the last three weeks, Mount Saint Vincent JV Basketball freshman Ralph Kube (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon HS) and Women's Basketball freshman Courtney Heesemann (New Hyde Park, NY/New Hyde Park HS) were honored as the Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) and Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Rookie of the Week for their respective efforts in leading their teams to 2-0 records. The JV team overcame an 0-7 start to the season to win the Gryphon Invitational at Sarah Lawrence College, while the Women's team scored victories over their arch-rival in both the HVWAC and Skyline Conferences. Both were also honored as Rookie of the Week during the week of Nov. 21.

Despite a rough start to the 2006-07 season for the JV team, Kube has been a revelation in the middle as his five double-doubles lead the team, as did his effort last weekend at Sarah Lawrence. Kube scored 11 points and added seven rebounds during a 60-45 win over the Webb Institute on Saturday and then chipped in 20 points and added 13 rebounds as Mount Saint Vincent downed Cooper Union 70-52 on Sunday for the Championship. Both teams defeated the Mount earlier in the 2006-07 campaign, and it took amazing second half rallies for the Mount to win each game. The Dolphins trailed Webb by five at the half on Saturday and led only 31-30 after 20 minutes against Cooper Union on Sunday. Both times it was Kube's spark during the stretch that led a Mount Saint Vincent rally to victory.

Heesemann for her part has developed into one of the best freshmen in both the HVWAC and Skyline Conference this season, and her back-to-back double-doubles last week (the first two of her career) led the Mount to huge wins over St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) and Manhattanville. Against St. Joseph's - who defeated the Mount in February for the 2006 HVWAC Tournament Championship - Heesemann scored 21 points and 14 rebounds as Mount Saint Vincent ended the St. Joseph's 39-game HVWAC regular season winning streak with a 66-29 win on Tuesday. Four days later, Heeseman scored 15 points and added career highs in rebounds (17) and steals (8) as Mount Saint Vincent downed Manhattanville, 69-61.

For the 2006-07 season, Heesemann leads Mount Saint Vincent in scoring (16.8 points per game) and rebounding (11.3 per game), and her 17 steals ranks second on the team.

The Mount Saint Vincent JV team returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 7 when they travel to Sarah Lawrence for their final game of 2006. The Women's Basketball team hosts Centenary on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.