The second week of MVC women's basketball season was filled with another bunch of great performances. Missouri State's Alexa Willard averaged 25.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in the Lady Bears' win at Oklahoma and loss at #7 Oregon State, earning Player of the Week honors. UNI graduate transfer guard Kristina Cavey averaged 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in wins over Missouri and Iowa, including 14 points, shooting 85.7% from the field, in a win over Iowa, taking home Newcomer of the Week Honors.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Alexa Willard, Sr., G, Missouri State
Alexa Willard averaged 25 points per game on 54 percent shooting in a pair of Power Five road games, knocking down 4-of-8 shots from beyond the arc and 6-for-6 at the foul line with eight total rebounds. Thursday at Oklahoma, Willard poured in 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting and 3-for-6 from deep, adding six rebounds to help the Lady Bears overcome a 20-point deficit for a 96-90 win over the Sooners. In Sunday’s Preseason WNIT final at No. 7 Oregon State, the senior netted a game-high 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, adding a steal and two boards in an 80-69 loss to the Beavers. Willard earned WNIT all-tournament honors after averaging 23.3 points in four games, and leads the nation with 44 field goals on the year.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Kristina Cavey, Gr., G, UNI
Cavey averaged nine points and 3.5 rebounds to help the Panthers record a pair of wins over Power Five opponents and the first 4-0 start since the 1998-99 season. The Panthers also got their first win over Iowa since 2006 and the first win over an SEC school since beating Arkansas in 2001. Cavey was 2-6 from the field against Mizzou and added four rebounds, an assists, two blocks and two steals for an all-around solid game. She scored 14 points in 17 minutes on 6-7 shooting in the win over Iowa. She also recorded three rebounds and a pair of assists against the Hawkeyes. Cavey is a graduate transfer from Fresno State.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Sara Rhine (DU) - Last week, Sara Rhine averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steal while shooting a blistering 70.8 percent from the floor and 80.0 percent from the free throw. Rhine started the week at South Dakota with 25 points on a career-best 11 field goals on just 15 attempts finishing just two points shy of her career high. Despite battling foul trouble much of the game, she added five rebounds and one steal in 27 minutes. In the next win over Creighton, Rhine scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, tied her career-high with three blocks and handed out two assists. She drew seven Bluejays’ fouls and finished 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Rhine is leading the league in scoring at 21.8 points per game.
Lexi Wallen (ILS) - Fifth-year senior Lexi Wallen had a career day in her hometown of Champaign, Illinois on Saturday, leading the Redbirds to a 74-58 upset of Big Ten in-state rival Illinois. Wallen posted career highs in points (26) and rebounds (9), while shooting an efficient 10-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the winning effort. Saturday’s victory was Illinois State’s first over a Big Ten opponent since they last defeated Illinois in 2012 and their first Power Five win since they bested Florida on Nov. 29, 2013.
Janae Gonzales (LUC) - Loyola sophomore guard Janae Gonzales cracked the 20-point mark for the second time in three games as the Ramblers downed Eastern Illinois, 67-51, in Charleston, Ill. last Wednesday. The Tolleson, Ariz. native knocked down seven of her 12 attempts from beyond the three-point arc en route to finishing with a game-high 24 points in addition to two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Gonzales, who is currently tied for first nationally in three-point field goals made per game (5.33), is averaging a team-best 18.3 points through Loyola’s first three games of the season.
Kam Finley (UNI) - Finley scored in double figures twice to lead UNI to a pair of wins over power five opponents and the first 4-0 start since the 1998-99 season. The Panthers also won their first win over Iowa since 2006 and the first win over an SEC school since beating Arkansas in 2001. Finley was 4-11 from the field for 10 points in just 10 minutes on the court for UNI in the Panthers’ 78-73 win over Missouri, Wednesday. She hit back-to-back buckets in the first quarter to give UNI a 16-14 lead, which they would maintain until the third quarter. Sunday, she racked up 20 points in just 20 minutes on the court and shot 8-13 from the field. She scored nine of her 20 points in the second quarter as the Panthers pulled away from the Hawkeyes for a 22-point win. She has yet to miss a free throw this season going 11-11 from the line to date.
Makenzie Silvey (SIU) - Silvey averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in Southern’s two games over the weekend. The Glen Carbon, Ill. native shot 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from the field and knocked down 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Silvey led the Salukis with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting against IUPUI, a postseason team from a year ago, and followed with 13 points, seven boards and four assists in SIU’s win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday. Silvey’s seven rebounds in the victory over the Golden Eagles tied her career-best.
Addison Stoller (VALPO) - Stoller averaged 22.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game over two road games last week for Valpo. The junior opened the week with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting in Valpo’s win at North Dakota State, and followed with a game-high 23 points - just one off her career high - and nine rebounds at North Dakota. Stoller went 3-for-5 from 3-point range in both games, matching her career best for 3-pointers made in both contests.
Mahri Petree (BRAD) - Petree helped highlight Bradley’s largest victory since 1981-82 by scoring a game-high 16 points off the bench as she helped the BU reserves combine for 72 points in a 101-39 victory against Eureka. She scored all 16 of her points in the second half and had three rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in 15 second-half minutes to finish with 16 points, four boards, four assists, one block and one steal in 21 minutes. Petree was 6-of-11 from the field and made 4-of-8 three-pointers in the victory.
Kierra Collier (DU) - Kierra Collier poured in a career-high 27 points and added four rebounds, four assists and two steals against South Dakota. Collier knocked down 10 field goals, including a career-high four three-pointers. In the victory over Creighton, she pulled down a career-high five rebounds and added three assists. In her first season as a Bulldog, Collier is averaging 11.8 points and 4.5 assists per game.
Jada Poland (UE) - In her first collegiate season since the 2017-18 season, redshirt junior Jada Poland has made an early impression for the Aces. Against SIUE on Wednesday, Poland scored 14 points, while recording a team-best seven rebounds in Evansville’s road loss. Poland was efficient from the field, hitting six of her seven attempts and going one-for-one from the charity stripe.
Jasmine Elder (INS) - Freshman Jasmine Elder had the best offensive game of any Sycamore this season on Thursday at Western Illinois. The Louisville native dropped 20 points, a career-high, off the bench for the blue and white while also dishing out five assists and pulling down three rebounds in 28 minutes of action. Her play helped ISU to a 45-13 bench scoring advantage over the Leathernecks.
Gabby Walker (SIU) - Walker averaged 7.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1 assist per game off the bench in SIU’s two games last week. The redshirt junior tallied her second double-digit scoring output of her Saluki career in the win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday, as she poured in 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 12 minutes off the bench.