Missouri State's Danielle Gitzen averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals, while shooting 5-for-5 from behind the arc, in road wins over Bradley and Illinois State, earning her first MVC Player of the Week honor of the season. Indiana State senior guard Tamara Lee averaged 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds as the Sycamores split a pair of road games against Valparaiso and Loyola, earning her second Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Danielle Gitzen, Sr., G, Missouri State
Missouri State’s Danielle Gitzen averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals in leading the Lady Bears to a pair of road victories over the weekend. The senior shot 52 percent overall and 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. Friday, Gitzen had 15 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals in a win at Bradley, shooting 5-for-11 with a pair of treys. Sunday, she scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 3-for-3 from distance, adding a 4-for-4 showing at the foul line with six boards, four assists and two steals in a win at Illinois State.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Tamara Lee, Sr., G, Indiana State
Indiana State’s Tamara Lee shot an impressive 53.8% from three-point range and averaged 14.5 points per game as she helped Indiana State rally from behind for a win at Valpo and nearly did the same at Loyola. Lee shot 42% overall over the weekend, dished out five assists and grabbed three steals while averaging 4.0 rebounds per game.
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 averaged a team-best 18.0 points per game and also averaged 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal per outing in a pair of home games. She scored 18 points in each contest as she scored her 600th career point in her 48th game as a Brave to tie for the eighth fastest player in program history to reach 600 points. Haack opened the week with 18 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal against Missouri State, scoring 13 of her 18 points in the second half. In Sunday’s overtime victory against Southern Illinois, she was a rebound short of her second double-double of the season as she collected 18 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one steal. Haack, who was 7-for-7 from the line Sunday and 8-for-8 from the charity stripe for the week, scored four points in the overtime period including a pair of free throws with three seconds left to help seal the win which snapped an eight-game losing skid in the all-time series with the Salukis. Haack moved into seventh in career three-pointers at Bradley and now owns just the fifth season in Bradley history of 49 three-pointers and 75 or more made free throws.
Sara Rhine (DU) - Sara Rhine continued her impressive play in the Bulldogs’ road victory over UNI. Rhine, who scored a game-high 26 points, made 9-of-18 from the floor, including two key 3-pointers, and made 6-of-6 from the free throw line. She added a career-high five steals and pulled down three rebounds and handed out one assist in 27 minutes. In the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs broke open the game with a 21-5 run, she scored 11 points during that stretch. Rhine, who averages a league-best 19.3 points, has scored 20 or more points in a league-leading nine games this season.
Kerri Gasper (UE) - In a pair of road MVC contests, senior Kerri Gasper recorded a double-double and reached a career milestone. Against Loyola on Friday afternoon, Gasper tallied her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds, becoming just the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 points in their career. On Sunday afternoon at Valparaiso, Gasper scored six points and recorded five rebounds and a block in the loss. On the season, the senior leads Evansville in scoring average (11.6), rebounding average (7.2), and minutes per game (34.6).
Ashli O’Neal (INS) - Ashli O’Neal averaged 20.5 points over the weekend – including a career-high 28 points at Valpo – as she led Indiana State to its fifth come-from-behind win of the year. A junior, O’Neal was 37 percent from the floor and averaged 4.5 rebounds per game while registering 5 steals. She was credited with 6 assists, shot 33% from beyond the arc and hit 11 of 15 free throws (73%). ISU is now 6-0 all-time when O’Neal scores 20-plus points.
Abby O’Connor (LUC) - Loyola sophomore forward averaged a team-high 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as the Ramblers swept a pair of games this past weekend. Following a 10-point, six-rebound showing in a 61-56 win over Evansville on Friday, O’Connor poured in a team-best 18 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter, as Loyola held on for a 56-54 victory against Indiana State on Sunday afternoon. The South Bend, Ind. native, who also corralled eight rebounds and blocked two shots against the Sycamores, went a perfect six-of-six from the free throw line in the final minute to help seal the outcome. O’Connor currently ranks 10th in the MVC in scoring (13.9 ppg), eighth in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (45.2%), free throw percentage (95.6%) and blocked shots (1.6 bpg).
Makenzie Silvey (SIU) - Southern Illinois sophomore Makenzie Silvey averaged 13.5 points 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals in SIU’s two road games over the weekend. She opened the weekend with 13 points on 40% shooting to go along with three steals at Illinois State. The 2018 MVC All-Freshman Team selection followed with 14 points, six boards and three steals in 43 minutes at Bradley on Sunday. The Glen Carbon, Ill. native has now scored in double figures in five-straight games and in 14 of SIU’s 16 games this season.
Meredith Hamlet (VU) - Senior Meredith Hamlet enjoyed an impressive bounce-back week as Valpo hosted Indiana State and Evansville. After being held to three total points in two games at Drake and at UNI the previous weekend, Valpo’s leading scorer rebounded by averaging 21.5 points per game this weekend. She came within two points of a season high and three points of a career high on Friday against the Sycamores, breaking out for 26 points - her third time this season surpassing the 25-point threshold. She also pulled down five rebounds, handed out four assists and swiped three steals against Indiana State. Hamlet followed that up with an efficient 7-of-8 shooting showing on Sunday against Evansville, turning in 17 points while grabbing a team-high six boards. That helped Valpo to a 44-point win over the Purple Aces, the largest margin of victory by a Valley team against a Division-I opponent this season.
Lasha Petree (BRAD) - Petree averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 block and 3.5 steals in a pair of home games. In 25 minutes of action against Missouri State, she had five points, two rebounds, one block and steals. Petree came off the bench for the first time since late November in Sunday’s overtime win against Southern Illinois to score 15 points. She also pulled down five rebounds (four offensive) and had an assist, one block and four steals. After a tough start offensively in which she was 2-for-9 from the field, Petree knocked a three-pointer with 1:34 to play in regulation which gave the Braves a 47-45 lead. She made her final three shots of the day including a go-ahead three-pointer near the three-minute mark of the overtime period to give the Braves a 54-51 advantage. Petree also hit a pull-up shot in the lane with just under 30 seconds remaining to help seal the 58-53 overtime win for Bradley which snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with the Salukis.
Monica Burich (DU) - Monica Burich had her best all-around game as a Bulldog in the victory over UNI. Burich, who transferred to Drake from Colorado and is in her first season at Drake, scored nine points, grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and handed out a career-best five assists in 17 minutes off the bench. She has appeared in all 17 games in her first season and averages 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds.
Makayla Wallace (UE) - On the road against Loyola and Valparaiso this weekend, freshman Makayla Wallace continued to show her defensive ability, while getting to the line consistently for Evansville. Facing Loyola, Wallace recorded her fourth-straight double-figure scoring performance with 10 points, adding five rebounds, three steals, and an assist. Against Valpo on Sunday, Wallace scored six points, while tying for the team-high with five rebounds and recording a team-best four assists and two steals. Wallace has excelled the season in creating opponent turnovers as she leads the Aces with 38 steals on the year, while also leading Evansville in assists per game (2.4), free throws made (44), and free throw attempts (72), and leads all Aces’ freshman in scoring average (6.4).
Janae Gonzales (LUC) - Loyola freshman Janae Gonzales added 9.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in a pair of victories for the Maroon & Gold this past weekend. After chipping in five points and eight rebounds in Friday’s 61-56 triumph over Evansville, the Tolleson, Ariz. product finishing with 13 points, knocking down a three three-point attempts, five rebounds, two assists and a steal in a thrilling 56-54 win against Indiana State. Gonzales, who is currently averaging 10.8 points on the year, ranks in the top 10 in The Valley in both three-point field goals made per game (4th, 2.2) and three-point field goal percentage (8th, 37.9%).
Jasmine Franklin (MSU) - Jasmine Franklin averaged 10 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 blocks in two road wins, shooting 50 percent from the floor. Franklin had 12 points, six boards and a block Friday at Bradley, and tallied eight points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots on Sunday at Illinois State.