Plata put together a career-best outing on Thursday to give Saint Francis U momentum heading into the upcoming NEC Tournament with an 80-65 road win at Mercyhurst. The rookie guard was a dominant force for the Red Flash, who put an exclamation point on their most fruitful league slate since 2020-21 with their ninth triumph against an NEC opponent. Dropping 18 points after canning 6-of-10 field goals, Plata also recorded a career-best four steals in the victory. In addition, the White Plains, NY fueled a key stretch in the second quarter by scoring five-straight points to put Saint Francis U in front for good with 8:38 left before halftime. This is Plata’s first-ever NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week award, and the first for a Red Flash player this season.