Miles guard Samarian Franklin has been named Newcomer of the Week by the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It is the second time this season that she has earned the weekly conference award.

Franklin, a freshman from Birmingham, Ala., averaged 12 .3 points, 10 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals as the Lady Bears went 2-1 this week. In a victory over Spring Hill, Franklin had a career-high 16 assists while adding nine points and two steals. It was the most assists in school annuls, the most in a single-game by a SIAC member in more than 15 years and the second-most in all of Division II this season. The 19 points she scored in a loss to Edward Waters was tied for her second-highest scoring output this season.

This season, Franklin is currently averaging 11.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. She leads the SIAC in assists, is 6th in all of Division II and the top freshman in the country. Franklin is also the Lady Bears' leading scorer and is second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.2).

Franklin and the rest of the Lady Bears will begin the SIAC Tournament in the quarterfinals on Mar. 4. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 a.m.