The first weekend of MVC women's basketball conference action was filled with a long list of great performances. Drake's Sara Rhine helped the Bulldogs improve to 2-0 in league play, averaging 22.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 56.7% from the field in road wins over Bradley and Illinois State, en route to her fourth Player of the Week honor of the season. Missouri State freshman Jasmine Franklin also averaged a double-double with 13.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 66.7% from the floor in wins over Indiana State and Evansville, taking home Newcomer of the Week Honors.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Sara Rhine, Jr., F, Drake
Rhine, the MVC’s top scorer coming into league play, posted back-to-back double-doubles, leading the Bulldogs to a pair of league road wins. She started the weekend with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go with a season-high 14 rebounds in the Bradley win. She added two assists, two blocks and two steals in just 20 minutes. Rhine then followed that performance with another 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 11 rebounds and one block and one steal in 22 minutes in the win over Illinois State. Rhine leads the league in scoring at 19.0 points per game and field goal percentage at 58.8 and ranks second in rebounding at 8.6 per game. She has scored 20 or more points in five out of the past six games.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Jasmine Franklin, Fr., F, Missouri State
Missouri State’s Jasmine Franklin posted back-to-back double-doubles in home wins against Indiana State and Evansville, averaging 13.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 67 percent from the field. Friday, Franklin shot 8-for-10 against Indiana State, connecting on eight consecutive attempts and finishing with 17 points and 11 boards. Sunday, the rookie had 10 points, 10 boards and three blocks in just 17 minutes of action against Evansville.
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 averaged 16.5 points, 16.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals while shooting 59 percent from the field in the first two conference games of the year. She opened the week with 11 points, nine rebounds, one assist and three steals in 25 minutes of action against Drake before turning in a historic performance against Northern Iowa. Brackmann matched the Bradley single-game record with 24 rebounds in Sunday’s outing against UNI and added a season-best 22 points for just the third 20-20 performance in school history. In fact, Brackmann had the first 20-point, 20-rebound effort by a Brave since Shelli Braud in January 1988. Her 24 boards tied for the fifth-best total in Valley history and were the most in the MVC since 2009. Brackmann also had one assist and a career-best four blocks in the game, helping Bradley rally from 18 down early in the fourth quarter to force overtime. She scored Bradley’s final four points in regulation, including the game-tying free throws with 15.5 seconds remaining, and blocked a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer. She scored eight points in the fourth and four in the overtime period.
Marley Miller (UE) - Opening Missouri Valley Conference competition, senior Marley Miller continued her strong form. Against Southern Illinois on Friday evening, Miller led the Aces with 16 points tying her career-highs in field goals made with seven and steals with three. On Sunday, Miller paced Evansville for the fourth-straight game, finishing tied for the team-high with 12 points while recording two rebounds and an assist. This season, the senior is averaging 10.2 points per game, while shooting 48% from the field and 41.8% from beyond the arc.
Tamara Lee (INS) - Tamara Lee averaged 12.5 points and shot 44.4 percent from the 3-point line as Indiana State split a pair of road games to open league play. The fifth-year player shot 38.1 percent from the field over the weekend and led the Sycamores with 17 points in ISU’s 61-58 win at Southern Illinois Sunday. She swiped 8 steals and the guard grabbed seven rebounds while going 5-for-6 (.833) from the free throw line as she averaged 29.5 minutes per game. She sank a trio of 3s in that win at SIU, including a pair of bank shots with one coming from half court as the buzzer sounded.
Abby O’Connor (LUC) - Loyola sophomore forward Abby O’Connor continued her strong play of late, scoring a team-high 21 points in the Ramblers’ 80-54 win over Valparaiso to open Missouri Valley Conference play on Sunday afternoon in Chicago. The South Bend, Ind. native tied a two-week-old career-high by knocking down five threes and fell just shy of a double-double, collecting nine rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. O’Connor, became the first Rambler since Taylor Johnson (2015-16) to post back-to-back games of 20-plus points, is averaging a team-best marks in both points (14.6 ppg), rebounds (7.1 rpg), and blocked shots (1.6 bpg).
Alexa Willard (MSU) - Alexa Willard shot 67 percent from the floor and 71 percent from 3-point range in two games, averaging 18.5 points per contest. Willard had a career game Sunday against Evansville, with highs of 25 points and 11 field goals in an 11-for-15 shooting performance that included eight consecutive makes in the first half and a trio of 3-pointers. Friday, Willard went 5-for-9 with 12 points against Indiana State, adding two rebounds and steals on the weekend.
Mikaela Morgan (UNI) - Mikaela Morgan averaged 13 points and five rebounds to help UNI go 1-1 to open up Missouri Valley Conference Play. Morgan scored eight points on 3-5 shooting in the Panther’s two-point loss to Illinois State. She added four rebounds in the win. Against Bradley, she scored a career-high 18 points and added six rebounds to help UNI to an 81-78 overtime road win over Bradley.
Nicole Martin (SIU) - Southern Illinois junior Nicole Martin averaged a league-best 24.5 points on 70.0% (21-for-30) shooting from the field, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in SIU’s two home games over the weekend. She opened the weekend with her fourth career double-double, as she poured in 23 points on a near perfect 11-for-12 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals in SIU’s 67-47 win over Evansville. The 2018 Preseason All-MVC selection followed with a career-high 26 points to go along with six rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in a career-best 39 minutes against Indiana State on Sunday. The back-to-back 20-plus point outputs marked the second time that the Jefferson City, Mo. native has reached 20-plus points in consecutive games during her career and she has now reached double figures in 10 of SIU’s 13 games this season.
Monica Burich (DU) - Colorado transfer Monica Burich averaged 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the Bulldogs’ pair of wins. Burich scored six points, grabbed five rebounds (three offensive), nabbed two steals and handed out two assists against the Braves in a career-high 21 minutes. She is averaging 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in her first season and has played in every game.
A’Niah Griffin (UE) - In the first two games of the conference season, freshman A’Niah Griffin continued to produce in her freshman campaign. Facing SIU, Griffin tallied four points and three rebounds in 22 minutes on the court, earning her seventh start of the season. Closing the weekend, Griffin scored a career-high 12 points and tallied a career-best six rebounds, while tying a career-high with three steals on the road at Missouri State on Sunday. On the year, Griffin sits fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 5.6 points per game, and has started eight of the last nine games for Evansville.
TeTe Maggett (ILS) - TeTe Maggett topped her personal best and led all scorers with 29 points as she guided the Redbirds to their first victory over UNI since 2014 on Friday. The North Chicago native was perfect from the charity stripe this weekend, netting 8-for-8 in two contests. She grabbed a career high three steals in win on Friday and added five this weekend. On Sunday, Maggett added 13 points, tallying her 10th consecutive double-digit game. t Indiana State, adding two rebounds and steals on the weekend.
Janae Gonzales (LUC) - Loyola freshman Janae Gonzales returned from a concussion in Sunday’s 80-54 win over Valparaiso to open the Ramblers’ Missouri Valley Conference slate. The Tolleson, Ariz. product didn’t miss a beat, connecting on five of her seven attempts from beyond the three-point arc en route to finishing with 17 points. Gonzales, a two-time MVC Newcomer of the Week selection during the non-conference portion of Loyola’s schedule, currently ranks third on the Rambler roster in scoring (11.3 ppg) and has knocked down a team-high 23 shots from distance.
Cynthia Wolf (UNI) - Cynthia Wolf averaged 9.5 points and 3.0 rebounds to help UNI go 1-1 on the opening weekend of MVC Play. She scored 12 points in just 12 minutes on the floor against Illinois State. She was 4-6 from the field and 3-5 from the three-point line. She also added a pair of rebounds. Against Bradley, she was 2-4 from the field and 1-1 from the three-point line. She added four rebounds.