Bender captures her second Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week award this season three days after she claimed Most Valuable Player honors at the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic. The senior forward averaged 22.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in victories over defending C-USA regular season champion UTEP and WAC member Utah State. Spearheading an upset of the tournament host Miners, who were 28-4 last season, Bender. tallied game-highs of 22 points and eight rebounds. The senior forward was equally impressive in the championship game victory over Utah State. Bender scored 23 points and grabbed eight boards, both game highs once again, in the 48-44 win. She scored six points, including 4-of-5 free throw shooting, in the game’s final 48 seconds to ice the tournament title. Providing nearly half of her team’s offensive output, Bender shot 17-of-33 (51.5%) from the field.