Athena Christoforakis continued her low post dominance this week as the Temple women’s basketball team (14-9, 9-3 A-10) went 3-1 and gained sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 East Division.
For her consistency on the court and ability to control the traffic passing in and out of the lane she was named the A-10 Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Christoforakis scored in double figures in all three of the Owls’ wins this week including a 24-point, 17-rebound performance against Richmond and 11points and six rebounds against Xavier.
But Christoforakis doesn’t credit her box scores for the award. She attributes it to her aggressiveness-which in turn, leads to the impressive box scores.
That aggressiveness in her game night in and night out — hitting the hardwood for loose balls, the way she turns and steals on a defender while coming off a baseline screen, clawing through players to follow her shot — stems from her competitive nature.
Christoforakis wants to win and wants to be in the big games and face the big teams. If ever thrown into a game-winning scenario, she would probably want to take that final shot.
She might get that chance if her team continues to play the way they have and continue to feed off of each other’s energy.
Last season as a first year transfer student from Daytona Beach Community College in Port Orange, Fla., Christoforakis had to learn her teammates’ style of play and find her role on the court.
This season it’s clear where she stands in the Owls’ system and how valuable she is to the team.
“I felt comfortable playing with them last year but it takes a while to get used to how they play,” she said. “I think this year for everyone, not just me but us as a team, [we] are used to the coaching staff and they’re used to us and they know what we can and can’t do.”
For Christoforakis and her teammates there is almost nothing that they can’t do.
Christoforakis’ competitiveness has certainly rubbed off on her teammates and their drive and determination have them headed on a promising path.
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