NEW ORLEANS – Derek St. Hilaire, a senior guard for the University of New Orleans basketball program, has been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for January. Monthly award-winners are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Greater New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month
St. Hilaire led UNO to an 8-1 record in January, including winning seven straight games after losing an overtime game to McNeese on Jan. 6 in Katy, Texas. The Privateers concluded the month on an eight-game win streak (longest since 1996) and took over first place in the Southland Conference with a 5-0 record after defeating McNeese 84-78 on Jan. 30 in Lake Charles. For the month, Hilaire averaged 24.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals, playing in eight games, missing one. The six-footer from Atlanta won a pair of Player of the Week honors from the Louisiana Sportswriters (Jan. 23 and Jan. 30) and was the Southland Conference Player of the Week for Jan. 24-30, earning the honor for the second time this season. He had a pair of 30-point efforts during the month – scoring a career-best 34 in a 77-66 win over Houston Baptist (1/27) and 31, including 25 in the second half in a thrilling comeback victory over Northwestern State (1/8). For the season, St. Hillaire leads the Southland in scoring (20.7).
St. Hilaire earned the honor over four other basketball stars and one track standout.
- Santerrius Barlow ran 200 meters in 21.52 seconds for the Xavier University indoor track and field team at the Samford Open in Birmingham on Jan. 22. His time was an automatic qualifying time for NAIA nationals in March and earned him second-place overall. The winner was unattached and both he and Barlow out-paced sprinters from six NCAA Division I schools, including Mississippi State. Entering February, the fifth-year senior’s time ranks third in the NAIA this season in this event. It was the only month of the month for Xavier.
- Jalen Cook, a sophomore from Walker, La., and a transfer from LSU, helped lead the Tulane men’s basketball team to a 5-3 record in January. The Green Wave (9-9 overall) are 6-3 in the American Athletic Conference, having producing their most conference wins in any of their seven seasons in the American. In January, Cook averaged 36.3 minutes, 20 points, 3.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.8 turnovers. He shot 40 percent from the floor, 43 percent on 3-pointers and 82 percent on free throws as he has helped lead a dramatic and unexpected turnaround for Tulane this season. Cook was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer and made all three free throws to give the Green Wave a 67-66 victory over Wichita State on January 29 at Devlin Field House.
- Kennedy Hansberry, a 5-8 senior guard from Atlanta, led the Loyola women’s basketball team to a 7-1 record in January by averaging 15.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 0.9 steals per game. She opened the month with a career-high 26 points as the Wolf Pack returned from a 26-day COVID layoff to post an 81-77 win over Talladega. She also added five rebounds and three steals as she earned Player of the Week honors from both the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. She closed the month with a 21-point performance in a 98-69 win over Brewton-Parker (1/29).
- Jaylee Womack, one of the top high school girls’ basketball players in the state, led Ponchatoula High School to a 12-1 month of January. The 5-10 senior guard averaged 27.0 points per game during the month while shooting 51.6 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from three-point land and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. She recorded four games with double figures in rebounds and six games with six or more steals, tallying those impressive stats despite playing limited minutes in multiple blowout wins (she played less than 24 minutes in nine of the Lady Wave’s 13 games during the month). Six times during the month, Womack scored over 30 points, including a 30-point performance in a Jan. 27 win over Albany that lifted her into the 2,500 Point Club for her high school career. In the lone loss of the month, a 60-56 defeat at the hands of St. Louis Catholic in the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic (1/6), Womack scored 32 points. She followed that with 23 points (and 13 rebounds) in a win over Lafayette Christian (1/7) and a 35-point outburst in a 66-53 victory over Ellender (1/8) to earn all-tournament recognition. Another memorable performance came in a Jan. 22 victory over Southern Lab when she poured in 32 points, including 28 in the second half. Womack has signed to play with Tulane.
- Zach Wrightsil, a 6-7 swingman from Texas, led the Wolf Pack to a 6-1 month of January as they improved to 19-1 overall and 8-1 in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC). Loyola is ranked No. 3 in the country in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll. For the month, Wrightsil averaged 16.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.6 blocks and 2.4 steals per game. He closed the month with back-to-back SSAC Player of the Week honors. He was selected as top in the league for Jan. 17-23 after averaging 19 points and 8.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week. This past week, he opened with the third triple-double of his career with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He hit 11-of-14 shots from the floor while adding three steals in the 129-76 win over Middle Georgia (1/27). For the season, the senior leads the Pack with 16.1 points per game and he’s second on the team with 8.0 rebounds and third with 2.7 assists. He leads the SSAC with 2.4 steals per game and with a 60.7 field-goal percentage.
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee has been selecting an Amateur Athlete of the Month each month since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region in order to be eligible.
{Courtesy: release from the Allstate Sugar Bowl}