SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) picked Plattsburgh's Payton Couture as its first 2021 PrestoSports Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week.
Couture averaged 16.8 points per game through the Cardinals' first four games of the season, including 19.3 points per game this past week, to help Plattsburgh State to a 3-1 overall record and a three-game winning streak. She also is averaging 8.5 rebounds per game and 1.3 blocks per game in addition to shooting 54.9 percent (28-of-51) from the floor and 40 percent (2-of-5) from 3-point range. Couture netted nine points and added seven rebounds in her collegiate debut on Nov. 6 against SUNY Canton, playing 13 minutes off the bench in a 65-52 setback. She then poured in a career-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 shooting from the line while grabbing eight rebounds to power Plattsburgh to an 87-82 win at Northern Vermont University-Johnson on Tuesday. Couture posted her first career double-double in a 71-60 Cardinal Classic win over SUNY Cobleskill on Friday, scoring 16 points and adding a career-high 14 rebounds, before closing out action at the Cardinal Classic with 15 points, five rebounds and a career-high three blocks in a 69-44 win over Norwich University on Saturday.
