Empire 8 Release

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Elmira College freshman Lauren Franklin '20 was rewarded by the Empire 8 Conference for her first breakout week by earning her first-ever Rookie of the Week award, as announced by the league office Monday afternoon.

Franklin, who worked her way into the lineup at the start of the New Year, finished EC's three-game week with a double-double average, as she scored 11.7 points and hauled in 10.3 boards per game, in addition to forcing a team-best eight steals and dishing out five assists.

She posted a seven-point, nine-rebound performance in a 65-62 win at Houghton College on January 17th. Of her seven points, five came in the second half, including the go-ahead points on a fourth-quarter basket that helped the Purple and Gold earn the come-from-behind victory.

The Binghamton, New York, product then scored double-digit points in back-to-back contests against Alfred University and Ithaca College. On the road in Alfred, New York, on January 19th, Franklin earned her first career double-double with season highs in points (15) and rebounds (13), helping EC down the Saxons by a 64-52 final score. In the home tilt with the Bombers, the 5-foot-8-inch guard netted 13 points and finished one rebound shy of a second double-double with nine.

The latest in a line of standout freshmen for the EC women, Franklin finds herself listed among the Empire 8's leaders in a pair of categories, despite missing the first four games of the season due to injury; she's ranked sixth in the league in steals per game with 2.1 and 14th in rebounds with 6.8.

Franklin and the Soaring Eagles are set to host Nazareth College in a 6:00 p.m. conference bout on Tuesday, January 24th, on the home hardwood inside Speidel Gymnasium.