Piller named SSC Player of the Week, Rodriguez Earns Defensive Player of the Week
Melbourne, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference has announced the first selections of the year for Women's Basketball Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week. In the first week of the 2024-25 season the Spartans traveled to Langley, British Columbia, Canada to compete in the CCA Canadian Tip-Off Classic. Tampa went on to sweep the Canadian Classic with a 3-0 record and would also go on to sweep the first week of player honors.
Zoe Piller has been named the first Player of the Week of the 2024-25 season for her outstanding play over the past three games. The Senior from Brentwood, Tennessee was instrumental in helping the Spartans secure a 3-0 record in Canada. In the season opener versus Seattle Pacific on Nov 1st, Piller would record a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four blocks. On multiple occasions during game 1, Piller was able to out muscle the Seattle Pacific players for key rebounds leading to double digit second chance points. Zoe Piller would have a "quieter" game according to the stat sheet, but her presence downlow and physicality was too much for St. Edwards to handle. Piller held her matchup in game two to under ten points and snagged five offensive boards. The final game of the Canadian Classic could be better known as the Zoe Piller show. Taking on the host school Simon Fraser, Piller would showcase her elite talent in all aspects of the game recording another double-double. On the offensive side, she shot an absurd 85% from the field in route to a 30-point, 12 rebound performance. All weekend long, Piller put herself in positions to make plays and was a force downlow on the blocks for the Spartans. Zoe Piller will look to keep up her strong play going into week two of the 2024-25 season when the Spartans come back home for games this weekend.
Sariana Rodriguez has been named the first Defensive Player of the Week of the 2024-25 season for her gritty work on the defensive side of the court. During the team's week in Canada, the transfer from Puerto Rico totaled 4 steals and 4 blocks to go along with multiple key deflections. Her length and quick feet proved to be a problem for most of the players she went up against. Rodriguez's defensive impact helped the Spartans keep opponents to under 60 points a game and under 30% from the field.
The Spartans (3-0) will have back to back home games this upcoming weekend in which fans will get their first chance to see Piller and Rodriguez play in person. Those games will take place on Friday, Nov 8th, at 12:30pm and Saturday, Nov 9th, at 1:00pm at the Bob Martinez Center.
