Fueled by a career-high 44 points against future Big West member San Diego State, Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago has something extra to celebrate this holiday season as she collects her second Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Week accolade of the 2011-12 season. Santiago now has seven career weekly honors to her name, ranking her sixth all-time in the Big West Conference.

Santiago opened the week with a 33-point, 11-rebound performance in the Mustangs' 73-72 loss to Loyola Marymount. She also notched four assists, two blocks and one steal to her total.

Two days later against the Aztecs, the senior forward drained a career-high 44 points on a 16-of- 23 performance, while shooting 11-of-14 from the charity stripe. Her 44 points missed the school record, set in 1982, by just two points.

Averaging 38.5 points and 9.5 boards per contest, Santiago led the team in both categories. She also shot .600 from the field and .800 from the free throw line.

Others nominated: Megan Richardson (Cal State Fullerton), Natasha Hadley (UC Riverside), Sweets Underwood (UC Santa Barbara), Gena Johnson (Pacific)