SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- Chattanooga women's basketball sophomore Caia Elisaldez wrapped up her regular season with one last accolade before heading to the SoCon Tournament later this week, as Elisaldez was named as the Southern Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.
The Whittier, California, was a cornerstone for the Mocs this past week, as Elisaldez averaged 18.5 points/game, 8.5 assists/game, 4.5 rebounds/game and 1.5 steals/game enroute to helping the Mocs outright clinch the No. 2 seed heading into this week's conference tournament.
This marks the second SoCon POTW honor of her career, with the other coming earlier this season back on November 26. It's also the third time any UTC women's basketball player has been recognized in the conference's weekly awards this season, with the other time coming back on February 18 when Gianna Corbitt earned the honor.
Elisaldez opened her week with an 18-point, eight-assist performance in Chattanooga's overtime loss to Furman on Thursday, finishing as the team leader in each stat. The sophomore also recorded five rebounds and a steal in that game.
She would then go on to will the Mocs to a 69-61 victory over Wofford in Saturday's regular season finale at the Roundhouse, leading the team in points (19), assists (9) and steals (2) in the victory. Her nine assists marked a new career-high for Elisaldez, while the game also marked the tenth-straight contest in which Elisaldez has led the Mocs in scoring.
Both games were near-double-double performances for Elisaldez and would've marked the first collegiate double-double of her young career. She also nearly became the first Moc since 2006 to have a double-double with points and assists.
Elisaldez actively ranks second in the Southern Conference in scoring (14.2 points/game) and assists (4.7 assists/game), while also ranking eighth in the SoCon in field goal percentage (.495). When only taking into account conference games, Elisaldez ranks first in the league in scoring (17.4 points/game), second in assists (4.9 assists/game), fifth in field goal percentage (.506) and ninth in steals (1.2 steals/game).
With Elisaldez leading the charge, Chattanooga women's basketball returns to action Thursday, March 6 for their opening round matchup against No. 7 seed Mercer at the 2025 Southern Conference Tournament. Tipoff against the Bears is slated for 1:15 p.m. ET at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville.
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