Drake's Sara Rhine averaged 18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists, while shooting 63.2% from the field in wins over Loyola and Valparaiso, earning her fifth MVC Player of the Week honor of the season. The five awards rank tied for third all-time in Valley history for a single season. Missouri State freshman Jasmine Franklin scored 10 points with a career-high 14 rebounds in the Lady Bears' only game of the week, earning her second-straight Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Sara Rhine, Jr., F, Drake
Sara Rhine had another outstanding weekend in Drake’s two home victories, averaging 18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block in while shooting 12-of-19 (63.1 percent) from the floor and impressive 12-of-13 (92.3 percent) from the free throw line. In the Loyola win, Rhine made 5-of-10 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line for 15 points. She just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and she added three assists and one steal in just 22 minutes. In the Valpo win, Rhine had a game-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and she made 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Again, she just missed a double-double with eight rebounds to go with two assists, two blocks and two steals in 25 minutes.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Jasmine Franklin, Fr., F, Missouri State
Jasmine Franklin had 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in MSU’s only game last week, a 66-51 win against Southern Illinois. She shot 4-of-8 from the floor with a steal. Franklin’s 14 boards were the most for an MSU freshman since Christiana Shorter had 16 in 2010, while her third straight double-double marked the longest streak for an MSU player since 2012, and the longest for a freshman since Shorter in 2010.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Chelsea Brackmann (BRAD) - Brackmann continued her strong play, averaging 18.0 points on a blistering 71 percent shooting and also pulled down 7.5 rebounds per game as she helped power Bradley to a pair of road wins. She opened the week with 15 points on 7-of-10 from the field and also tallied five boards, one assist, one block and one steal in a win at Evansville as she scored her 600th career point. Brackmann turned in her league-best seventh double-double of the season Sunday at Indiana State, helping Bradley secure its first road win in the series with the Sycamores since 1997. She finished with a game-high 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting and pulled down 10 boards in the victory. Brackmann also had a steal against Indiana State as Bradley held the Sycamores to 22.4 percent shooting to match the fourth lowest opponent shooting percentage in program history.
Kerri Gasper (UE) - Since beginning MVC play, senior Kerri Gasper has found her rhythm, recording a pair of identical scoring performances this weekend. Opening the weekend against Bradley, Gasper scored a team-high 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the Aces’ 75-68 loss to the Braves. On Sunday facing Illinois State, Gasper once again led the team with 17 points and eight rebounds, adding a career-high three blocks in the 72-61 loss. This season, Gasper leads Evansville in scoring (12.0 points per game), rebounds (7.1), and minutes (34.3).
Ashli O’Neal (INS) - Ashli O’Neal averaged 17 points over the weekend and shot 50% from 3-point range as Indiana State handed Illinois State its sixth consecutive loss at the Hulman Center. O’Neal scored 34 points overall, had five steals and grabbed six rebounds on the weekend while dishing out three assists, averaging 34.5 minutes played. The junior shot 38.7% from the floor and was 6 of 7 at the free throw line.
Ellie Rice (LUC) - Loyola sophomore guard Ellie Rice averaged a team-best 12.5 points in the Ramblers’ two-game road swing through the state of Iowa this past weekend. The Austin, Texas native opened the trip by going 6-for-10 from the field en route to a 13-point performance in Friday’s 69-60 loss at Drake. She came back less than 48 hours later to add 12 points as part of a 64-52 setback against UNI. Rice has now reached double figures in scoring 10 times through 14 games this season, matching the total from that of her freshman year.
Karli Rucker (UNI) - Karli shot 14-27 (51.9 percent) from the field and averaged 18.5 points in UNI’s two wins over the weekend. She scored 14 and went 3-4 from the three-point line against Valparaiso and scored a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double against Loyola. She scored the first seven points of Sunday’s game and had as many points (12) as the Ramblers did in the first quarter. She also averaged 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals on the weekend.
Nicole Martin (SIU) - Nicole Martin finished with a game-high 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks in SIU’s road game against Missouri State. It marked the fourth-straight game that Martin has scored in double figures and the 11th time she has done so this season.
Tatum Koenig (BRAD) - Koenig averaged 21.0 minutes of action off the bench in two road wins, scoring 6.5 points per outing on 75 percent shooting. She scored five points in 14 minutes during Friday’s win at Evansville. She provided a big spark in Sunday’s win at Indiana State, helping Bradley end a 21-game road losing streak in the series with the Sycamores. Koenig matched a season-high with 28 minutes off the bench and was +27 while on the floor, tallying eight points and two assists. She scored five of her eight points to help Bradley pull away in the second half and finished the contest 2-for-2 from the field (both three-pointers). Koenig also grabbed two boards as Bradley evened its MVC record at 2-2 and improved to 5-1 on the road this season.
Makayla Wallace (UE) - Playing in the first home MVC games of her career, freshman Makayla Wallace continued an impressive first year with Evansville. Against Bradley on Friday evening, Wallace was one of four Aces in double-figures, scoring 11 points, while rallying four steals, three rebounds, an assist, and a block, while shooting four-of-six from the field and hitting three free throws. For the second-straight game, Wallace scored double-digits, recording 13 points to go along with three assists, two rebounds, and a steal in 24 minutes of action. On the year, Wallace leads the Aces in steals (2.2 per game), free-throws made (37), and free-throw attempts (62).
TeTe Maggett (ILS) - TeTe Maggett guided the Redbirds to a 72-61 win over Evansville, leading all scorers with 26 points. The junior guard was perfect from the free-throw line shooting 9-for-9. This is her sixth-straight game without missing a shot from the charity stripe. Additionally, she was 60 percent from beyond the arc, netting 3-for-5 and grabbed four rebounds and added six assists. On Friday, Maggett was the second leading scorer for the ‘Birds with nine points, while also grabbing three rebounds.
Janae Gonzales (LUC) - Loyola freshman Janae Gonzales chipped in 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds over the Ramblers’ two games this past weekend against Drake and UNI. In Fridays’ 69-60 loss to the Bulldogs, Gonzales connected on four threes, her fourth game this season with at least three makes from distance, as she finished with 12 points and four rebounds. The Tolleson, Ariz. product added eight points and four rebounds as part of a 64-52 defeat at the hands of the Panthers on Sunday afternoon. Gonzales has knocked down a team-high 29 triples this season and ranks third in The Valley in three-point field goals made per game (2.2).
Kam Finley (UNI) - Cam scored 10 points on 4-9 (.44.4 percent) shooting against Valparaiso. She averaged 5.0 points 1.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks on the weekend.