Khanna & Cooley KPU Eagles/Sheraton Guildford Vancouver Athletes of the Week', week ending Sunday, February 8, 2015

Metro Vancouver.....The KPU Eagles are proud to announce their Sheraton Vancouver Guildford 'Athletes of the Week' for the week ending Sunday, February 8, 2015 as Shilpa Khanna, Surrey, BC, of women’s basketball and Matt (Madison) Cooley, Delta, BC of men's basketball. Both players are currently ranked in the Top 20 in the CCAA and Top 3 in the PACWEST.

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Khanna continues to be a dominant force on the court in scoring, leading not only the KPU Eagles but also consistently ranked high in PACWEST and CCAA. This week, with 16 games played the second-year guard is ranked third in the PACWEST and tied for 14th in the CCAA with 256 points which averages to 16 points per game. Her potential is still climbing as the Eagles head into the final five games of the 2014/15 regular season as she has already surpassed her season-total points from 2014. Khanna led the PACWEST in scoring last year as a rookie with 248 points and was also named the 2014 PACWEST rookie of the year.

“Shilpa is one of our most consistent and valued contributors in our program,” stated Eagles head coach Dan Nayebzadeh, "She had another impressive weekend with with 38 total points and 10 rebounds for the weekend.  She led us both nights in scoring and kept us in the games."

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Cooley earned his third ‘Athlete of the Week’ award this season strong performances versus the Capilano University Blues and the Quest University Canada Kermodes. On Thursday against the Blues In the Thursday game versus the Blues the science student was only one rebound away from his fourth double-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot, one steal. That milestone would not only be earned against Quest, but Cooley was only four assists short of a triple double; 19 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and two blocked shots during 40 minutes of play while being in foul trouble for the last minutes of the fourth quarter. Not only a leader for the Eagles in rebounds, with 15 games played, 133 rebounds and averaging 8.87 rebounds per game this week Cooley is ranked first in the PACWEST and 20^th in the CCAA.

“Matt Cooley continues to grow as a player and he continues to grow as a person each and every day. During the last two games, he showed why he is one of the best players in PACWEST and why he is truly the best high post in BC,” stated Eagles head coach Vladimir Nikić, “During the Quest game, this was the first time in my career as a coach to see my player play all five positions in a single game. Matt was playing in the post, on the perimeter, and when the team needed him he was running up the floor as a point guard. I am very happy with Matt's patience and mature attitude. He will just keep getting better from now on"

For more information on the Department of Athletics & Recreation, please contact Junelle Mah, sports information and marketing, at 604-786-0804 or at junelle.mah@kpu.ca.

The KPU Eagles Department of Athletics & Recreation enters its 14th season of interuniversity competition. The Eagles are members of the PACWEST conference and play in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with 100 student-athletes participating on eight varsity teams in men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, badminton and golf. KPU athletics plays its home games at the Eagles’ Nest (Surrey Campus), Northview Golf & Country Club, Newton Athletic Park, all located in Surrey, BC and the Ace Badminton Centre in Richmond, BC.  The Eagles are active in the conference with staff members on various advisory committees and competing to host both provincial and national championships. The student-athletes are mainly from the lower mainland but KPU’s rosters have included student-athletes from North America, South America, Asia and Europe.

Follow the Eagles on Twitter @KPU Eagles, on Facebook www.facebook.com/KPUEagles, or on our website www.kpu.ca/eagles.