KANSAS CITY - Sydney Steward was named NAIA Defensive Player of the Week for her performance in the first week of the 2026-27 Faulkner women's basketball season. It is the seventh NAIA weekly honor for a Faulkner student-athlete so far this fall, continuing a high-performance start to the year for the athletic department, and the first for Faulkner Women's Basketball since Brittney Carter took home two in her decorated career. 

The junior from Hazel Green, Ala., started at point guard this past weekend for the first time since her freshman season in which she suffered a season-ending injury that December. She made her mark instantly, putting up a career-high five steals in a season-opening upset of No. 1 and defending national champion Marian while adding seven defensive boards and eight assists. She then poured in six defensive boards and four steals to go with tying her personal-best mark of nine assists on Saturday against LSU Alexandria. She averaged 6.5 defensive rebounds and 4.5 steals per game on the defensive end to go with marks of seven points and 8.5 assists per game. Just after the NAIA announced her as the winner on Tuesday afternoon, she added nine assists and three steals at Bryan to help lead Faulkner to a 3-0 start.