The second week of MVC women's basketball was filled with another bunch of great performances. Drake's Sara Rhine averaged 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game during two wins last week, earning her second-straight Player of the Week honor. Loyola freshman guard Janae Gonzales averaged 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in wins over Detroit and UIC, including a 17 point, six rebound performance against the Flames, taking home Newcomer of the Week Honors.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Sara Rhine, Jr., F, Drake
Redshirt junior Sara Rhine posted her third double-double to start the season in the victory over South Dakota with 11 points and 10 rebounds behind 5-of-9 shooting, including knocking down one three-pointer. Rhine just missed another double-double in the win over CSUN with 24 points and eight rebounds. She went 10-for-20 against the Matadors, including making another three-pointer and she added one block, one assist and one steal. Rhine is averaging 16.3 points, which ranks fourth in the MVC and 10.3 rebounds, which ranks second in the Valley behind a 55.1 shooting clip, which also ranks fourth in the league.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Janae Gonzales, Fr., G, Loyola
Loyola freshman guard Janae Gonzales turned in the top outing of her young career in the Ramblers’ 75-60 win at UIC last Saturday. The Tolleson, Ariz. native erupted for a season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting as Loyola capped of a 2-0 week against former Horizon League rivals. She also saw action earlier in the week as part of a 52-43 triumph over Detroit Mercy, collecting a pair of rebounds, dishing out an assist and blocking a shot against the Titans. Gonzales, who has started in all three games for head coach Kate Achter this season, has reached double figures in scoring in two of her three appearances and is tied for third on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg).
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Lasha Petree (BRAD) - Petree scored a game-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting in just 13 minutes off the bench to help Bradley to an 83-40 victory over Rockhurst. She hit 3-of-5 three-pointers and made 6-of-7 free throw attempts in addition to collecting four rebounds, two blocks and three steals in the win. Petree is the first Bradley player to score 20 or more in the first two games of a season since Michelle Young in 2013-14 and is the first BU freshman with consecutive 20-point games since Bradley Hall of Fame member Heather Best closed out her freshman campaign in 1995-96 with a 31-point effort against Indiana State and 20-point contest vs. Illinois State.
Simone Goods (ILS) - The senior forward had two double digit showings with 19 in win over North Dakota and 13 points in loss to Eastern Michigan. With her strong performance this week she is currently averaging 19.0 points a game and 9.3 rebounds. She is now the second leading scorer in the conference and third in rebounding.
Ashli O’Neal (INS) - Junior Ashli O’Neal led Indiana State to a come-from-behind victory at Saint Louis last week as the Sycamores trailed the 2018 WNIT participants by 10 points in the fourth quarter. O’Neal scored 19 points and hit nine free throws in the game – the most by any Valley player last week. The junior guard set a career-high seven steals in the game, a mark that is the most by any Valley player this season, while also grabbing six rebounds. Her 3.50 steals per game rank her 36th nationally (and first in the MVC) while her 16 free throws made rank 48th nationally. O’Neal scored 13 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter against the Billikens as ISU more than doubled their score in the final quarter, at one point outscoring the host Billikens 23-9 in that final frame.
Tiara Wallace (LUC) - Loyola junior Tiara Wallace continued the strong start to her season, averaging 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds as the Ramblers picked up a pair of victories this past week. In Monday’s 52-43 win over Detroit Mercy, Wallace added nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high four steals. The Berkeley, Ill. native saved her best for Saturday’s 75-60 victory at UIC, pouring in 15 points, just four off her career high, to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. Wallace is currently ranks second on the Rambler roster in scoring (12.0 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg), assists (3.0 apg) and steals (2.3 spg).
Danielle Gitzen (MSU) - Danielle Gitzen led the Lady Bears in scoring in both games last week, averaging 14.5 points on 46 percent shooting, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists. The senior made half of her 3-point attempts and went 5-for-5 at the foul line. Tuesday at 16th-ranked Missouri, Gitzen scored all 16 of her points in the fourth quarter to help the Lady Bears overcome a 15-point halftime deficit before a narrow loss. She went 7-for-14 from the floor and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, adding three rebounds and a steal. Saturday, Gitzen tallied 13 points, including eight straight in the third quarter to push MSU’s lead to 21 points against Ball State. She added three assists and a rebound.
Karli Rucker (UNI) - Sophomore Karli Rucker led the Panthers with 22 points on 8-18 (.444) shooting including 4-8 (.500) from the three-point line. She is now 14-14 from the free throw line this season after going 2-2 against NIU. She is averaging 18.0 points and 5.0 assists per game for the Panthers.
Nicole Martin (SIU) - Martin averaged 18.0 points on 63.6% shooting (14-of-22) and grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game as SIU went 2-0 last week. The 2018 Preseason All-MVC selection led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added eight rebounds in Southern’s 60-40 win over SEMO on Wednesday. The Jefferson City, Mo. native followed with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with five rebounds in SIU’s 58-49 win over Marshall. She has now scored in double-figures in 11-straight games dating back to last season and has reached double-digits in 33 career games.
Addison Stoller (VALPO) - Stoller scored nine points or more in all three games this week while making contributions in a variety of statistical categories. She started the week with a 12-point effort against Power 5 competition at Illinois on an efficient 5-of-10 shooting while playing in front of numerous friends and family members in her return to her hometown area on Wednesday. Stoller, who has burst into the starting lineup this season after being hindered by a knee injury each of the last two years, following the game at Illinois by finishing a point shy of a double-double in the opener of the Vinewood Farm Classic at Morehead State on Friday. Her career-high 10 rebounds marked the first double-figure rebounding effort by any Valpo player this season, while her five assists were also a personal best. The redshirt sophomore again filled the stat sheet on Saturday vs. St. Francis Brooklyn with nine points, a team-high eight rebounds and a team-high three steals. Five of her boards came on the offensive glass in a 78-76 Valpo win.
Tayzha Buck (UE) - In her first regular season home game for Evansville, freshman guard Tayzha Buck continued her strong shooting from beyond the arc. On Wednesday, Buck hit three triples on five attempts from three, including a pair of three-pointers during third-quarter Evansville run. This season, Buck leads the Purple Aces with seven made three-points, shooting 43.8% from outside this year.
Mary Crompton (ILS) - Crompton went 3-for-5 from behind the arc and added a career high of 15 points in win against North Dakota. The freshman guard averages 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Lynn Tamis (INS) - Lynn Tamis, a true freshman from the Netherlands, scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in Indiana State’s come-from-behind win at Saint Louis last week. Tamis was 3-for-4 form the field and blocked a shot and is ranked fourth in the Valley with an average of 1.0 blocks per game.
Sydney Manning (MSU) - Sydney Manning averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists last week, shooting 58 percent from the floor and 63 percent from 3-point range. Manning scored 11 points Tuesday at 16th-ranked Missouri, going 4-for-8 overall and hitting a pair of treys. Saturday against Ball State, the freshman went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, knocking down triples in the waning seconds of both the first and second quarters. She added five rebounds and three assists against the Cardinals.
Shay Frederick (VALPO) - After being held to four points at Big Ten foe Illinois on Wednesday, the Valpo freshman had a strong weekend in the Vinewood Farm Classic hosted by Morehead State. Frederick started the weekend by knocking down three triples on Friday against the host Eagles, finishing in double figures with 10 points. She followed with a career-high 19 points in Saturday’s 78-76 win over St. Francis Brooklyn. Frederick finished as the team’s leading scorer for the first time in her young career. She also became the first freshman in the MVC to hit four 3-pointers in a game this season.