The third week of MVC women's basketball non-conference action was once again filled with a long list of great performances. Drake's Sara Rhine helped the Bulldogs improve to 6-1, averaging 20.3 points and five rebounds in wins over Rutgers and #13 South Carolina and a loss to top ranked Notre Dame, en route to her third consecutive Player of the Week honors. Rhine joins Drake's Lizzy Wendell (2015-16) as the only two players in MVC history to win the award each of the first three weeks of a season. Indiana State senior transfer Tamara Lee averaged 15.0 points and two rebounds per game, including 20 points in the Sycamores' win over Grand Canyon, taking home Newcomer of the Week Honors.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sara Rhine, Jr., F, Drake
Sara Rhine continued her stellar play at the Vancouver Showcase. In three games, Rhine averaged 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game, helped Drake go 2-1 with wins over Power 5 members, Rutgers and No. 12/13 South Carolina with its lone loss to No. 1 Notre Dame, claim third place at the inaugural 8-team event and she was named MVP of the consolation game against South Carolina. In the comeback victory over Rutgers she scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free throw line to go with four rebounds and one steal in 23 minutes. Against No. 1 Notre Dame, which won the tournament, she scored 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, and pulled down five rebounds in 18 minutes. Rhine had her best game in the win over No. 12/13 South Carolina, she scored a team-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line in addition to pulling down six rebounds and grabbing one steal in 29 minutes. Rhine is second in the MVC in scoring at 17.9 points per game, fourth in rebounding at 8.0 per game and fourth in shooting 55.6.
Other Notable Performances: Gabi Haack (BRAD); TeTe Maggett (ILS); Ashli O’Neal (INS); Ellie Rice (LUC); Brice Calip (MSU); Karli Rucker (UNI); Abby Brockmeyer (SIU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Tamara Lee, Sr., G, Indiana State
Indiana State’s Tamara Lee averaged 15.0 points per game and shot 45 percent from the field as the Sycamores rallied from a nine-point deficit for a double-overtime win at Grand Canyon. She tied a career-best 20 points in that win as Lee shot 37.5 percent from three-point range and hit all nine free throws over the weekend.
Other Notable Performances: Lasha Petree (BRAD); Tayzha Buck (UE); TeTe Maggett (ILS); Allison Day (LUC); Jasmine Franklin (MSU); Peyton McCallister (SIU)
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Gabi Haack (BRAD) - Haack was named MVP of the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament after helping Bradley to a 2-0 record and tournament title. She averaged 21.0 points on 48 percent shooting, including 9-of-20 (45 percent) three-point shooting, and collected 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steals while boasting a 3.00 assist-to-turnover ratio. Haack had 10 points, three rebounds two steals and tied a career-high with five assists in a 59-47 victory against Delaware, which reached last year’s WNIT, to open tournament play. She followed it up with a historic performance in the championship, tossing in a career-high 32 points against tournament-host Florida Atlantic. Haack was 11-for-19 from the field and hit seven three-pointers in addition to tying a career-high with 11 rebounds against the Owls. Her 32 points are the most in the MVC this season and were the most points by a Brave in a game since Michelle Young tied the Bradley single-game scoring record of 38 points nearly four years to the day (11/26/14).
TeTe Maggett (ILS) - The junior guard added a new personal best in points and assists in Sunday’s close loss to Butler with 22 and seven, respectively. She added double figures in both of Illinois State’s contests with 10 points on Monday. Maggett went 4-for-6 from 3-point range on Sunday and shot 42.8 percent from the field this week. Maggett added a total of 10 assists, 12 rebounds, 32 points and three steals, leading the Redbirds in all four statistical categories.
Ashli O’Neal (INS) - Junior Ashli O’Neal led Indiana State to a come-from-behind double overtime victory at Grand Canyon, despite the Sycamores trailing by nine points, and averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 steals per game at the Grand Canyon Thanksgiving Classic. She finished the week with 38 points total, including 21 points against Grand Canyon, nine steals and 12 rebounds as a 5-foot-5 point guard.
Ellie Rice (LUC) - Loyola sophomore guard Ellie Rice poured in a season-best 18 points, two points off her career high, to lead the Ramblers in an 88-74 road loss at Bowling Green last Tuesday. The Austin, Texas native connected on six of her 11 attempts from the field and drained a season-best four threes. Rice, who also dished out a career-high five assists against the Falcons, is averaging a team-best 13.5 points, a mark which ranks just outside the top 10 on the MVC leaderboard.
Brice Calip (MSU) - Brice Calip filled the box score in all categories last week, recording 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots at Santa Clara. Calip need only 23 minutes to reach those numbers and committed only one turnover in the game.
Karli Rucker (UNI) - Karli Rucker averaged 15.0 points to lead UNI to a 2-1 week, including a win over Creighton a 71-64 true road win over Long Beach State and a 61-60 loss to Boise State, the back-to-back Mountain West Champions. She earned Beach Classic All-Tournament Team honors. She shot 15-33 (45.5 percent) from the field and 4-7 (57.1 percent) from the three-point line. She was also 7-8 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line. She also grabbed a total of 10 rebounds and five assists on the weekend. She scored 19 points against Long Beach State and 22 points against Boise State.
Abby Brockmeyer (SIU) - Brockmeyer averaged 11.3 points on 50% (12-of-24) shooting from the floor to go along with 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in SIU’s three games last week. The sophomore forward from Raymond, Ill. tallied eight points, eight rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal at Western Kentucky and followed with her fourth double-double of the season in SIU’s 72-50 win over Hartford. The 2018 MVC Freshman of the Year poured in 17 points, grabbed 10 boards and dished out a career-best five assists in the win- SIU’s first-ever versus an American East Conference foe. She followed with nine points on 3-of-3 shooting and added three boards against No. 19 Arizona State on Saturday. Brockmeyer leads the Valley, and ranks eighth nationally, with four double-doubles.
Lasha Petree (BRAD) - Petree averaged 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, helping Bradley to a 2-0 record and title at the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla. Petree tallied seven points, five rebounds and one block in 16 minutes off the bench in a 59-47 victory against 2018 WNIT participant Delaware to help the Braves reach the championship game. She had all seven of her points and three rebounds in the second half against the Blue Hens. In the championship game, Petree collected points, one assist and three steals in 18 minutes. She had five points, an assist and two steals in the second half, helping Bradley pull away from Florida Atlantic in the second half.
Tayzha Buck (UE) - For the third-straight game, freshman guard Tayzha Buck found her rhythm from beyond the arc. Hosting Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Buck finished with nine or more points for the third game in-a-row, scoring 12 points on four-of-eight shooting from three and collected five rebounds. Buck’s four triples marked the third-straight game in which she hit three or more three-pointers. The freshman leads the Purple Aces in threes made (11) and three-point percentage (45.8%).
TeTe Maggett (ILS) - The junior guard added a new personal best in points and assists in Sunday’s close loss to Butler with 22 and seven, respectively. She added double figures in both of Illinois State’s contests with 10 points on Monday. Maggett went 4-for-6 from 3-point range on Sunday and shot 42.8 percent from the field this week. Maggett added a total of 10 assists, 12 rebounds, 32 points and three steals, leading the Redbirds in all four statistical categories.
Allison Day (LUC) - Loyola freshman forward Allison Day provided a lift off the bench for the Ramblers in last Tuesday’s 88-74 loss at Bowling Green. Out of Winchester, Ohio, she added 10 points, reaching double figures in scoring for the second time in the Maroon & Gold’s last three games. Day currently ranks third amongst Valley freshmen in field goal percentage, operating at a 50 percent clip from the field.
Jasmine Franklin (MSU) - Jasmine Franklin had six points, six rebounds, four blocks, two steals and two assists Saturday at Santa Clara in MSU’s only game last week. Franklin’s four blocks were the most for an MSU freshman since Christiana Shorter had four against UNI on Jan. 2, 2010.
Payton McCallister (SIU) - McCallister averaged 9.7 points, 2.3 assists and 1.7 rebounds in SIU’s three games over Thanksgiving break. The freshman guard from Columbia, Mo. poured in a career-best 15 points against Western Kentucky on Nov. 20 and followed with her third double-digit scoring output of the season with 11 points, five assists and three rebounds in Southern’s 72-50 win over Hartford on Nov. 23.