The third week of MVC women's basketball non-conference action was once again filled with a long list of great performances. Bradley's Gabi Haack helped the Braves improve to 4-1, averaging 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in wins over Western Illinois and Miami (OH). en route to her first career Player of the Week honor. Loyola Chicago freshman Sam Galanopoulos averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game as the Ramblers beat Chicago State and Kansas City, taking home Newcomer of the Week Honors.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Gabi Haack, Jr., G, Bradley
Haack averaged 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 54 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range in a pair of wins. She made 5-of-11 three-point attempts and collected 20 points, five rebounds, two assists and a block as Bradley blitzed Western Illinois 84-49 on the road. Haack scored 18 of her game-high 20 points in the first half to help the Braves jump out to a 46-19 halftime lead against a team which has made the postseason three of the last four years. Saturday, she tossed in a team-high 24 points and also tallied six rebounds and two assists in a 79-68 victory against a Miami (Ohio) team which has 21 or more wins each of the past two seasons and made back-to-back WNIT appearances. Haack moved up two spots on Bradley’s career three-point list last week, passing head coach Andrea Gorski and former teammate Anneke Schlueter to move into fifth in BU history.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Sam Galanopoulos, Fr., G, Loyola Chicago
Loyola freshman guard Sam Galanopoulos reached double figures in scoring in both of the Maroon & Gold’s wins last week, averaging 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and a team-best 5.5 assists. The Skokie, Ill. product flirted with only the second triple-double in program history in Tuesday’s 98-53 rout of Chicago State, finishing with 13 points (6-9 FGs, 1-2 3FGs), eight rebounds, and eight assists, all season-high marks. She added 10 points (1-8 FGs, 8-9 FTs), five rebounds and three assists in Friday’s 72-67 double-overtime thriller at Kansas City, knocking down a pair of pressure-packed free throws late in the first overtime. Galanopoulos, who has seen action in all five games this season, is averaging 3.6 assists, a mark that leads all Valley freshmen.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Becca Hittner (DU) - Becca Hittner helped Drake race past Western Illinois, 94-75, Sunday in the team’s only game of the week. Hittner recorded her second-straight double-double with a season-high 25 points and career-best 12 rebounds. She finished 7-of-17 from the floor, including knocking down three three-pointers, and made 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Hittner added two blocks, one assist and one steal in just 27 minutes of action. Her big performance moved her to No. 13 all-time at Drake in career scoring with 1,643 points.
Jada Poland (UE) - Playing three games this week, redshirt junior Jada Poland made a significant impact in helping the Aces stay competitive. Poland scored a career-high 23 points as Evansville dropped a road contest at Austin Peay on Thursday. Poland’s best performance of her Aces’ career to this point came on Sunday in a 66-62 overtime win for Evansville. Poland scored a game-high 19 points, while securing eight rebounds and helping the Aces win their second game of the season. On the week, Poland displayed the ability to knock down perimeter shots, going 6-10 from distance.
Lexi Wallen (ILS) - Fifth-year senior Lexi Wallen averaged 4.5 rebounds and 14 points on 73.3% shooting to help the ‘Birds to a pair of non-conference wins this week and their best start since the 2007-08 season. Wallen had a team-high 18 points in Wednesday’s home victory over Northern Illinois, going 7-of-9 from the field and grabbing five boards. In Sunday’s road win at North Dakota, Wallen collected 10 points and four rebounds, going a perfect 2-2 from the charity stripe. Wallen has scored in the double-digits in every game so far this season.
LeAndra Echi (INS) - LeAndra Echi was dominant in Indiana State’s victory over Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday. The junior posted her second double-double of the season, recording 12 points and 10 rebounds, while also tallying an impressive six blocks. Her six blocks are the most by a Sycamore since Ty Battle also earned six on Jan. 21, 2018 against Illinois State. Echi is second in the Valley in blocks-per-game with 1.5 and also fifth in the MVC in rebounds-per-game with 8.3.
Allison Day (LUC) - Loyola sophomore forward Allison Day averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 blocks as the Ramblers picked up a pair of road wins last week. In Tuesday’s 98-53 victory at Chicago State, Day connected on seven of her nine attempts from the field en route to finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists. The Russellville, Ohio native paced the Rambler attack three days later against Kansas City, pouring in 17 points (8-19 FGs, 1-2 FTs) in addition to five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks as Loyola picked up a thrilling 72-67 double-overtime win. Day currently ranks third on the Loyola roster in scoring (13.2 ppg) and is operating at a 62.5 percent (30-of-48) clip from the field, good enough for fourth overall in the MVC.
Emily Gartner (MSU) - Emily Gartner scored a career-high 20 points in No. 22 Missouri State’s 71-64 win over Santa Clara on Friday, adding eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and a blocked shot. Gartner shot 7-for-15 from the floor, with additional career highs of 27 minutes and 6-for-8 at the free throw line to help the Lady Bears move to 5-1 on the season.
Mackenzie Silvey (SIU) - Makenzie Silvey averaged 25.0 points on an efficient 60-percent (21-of-35) shooting from the floor, which included 54.5% (6-of-11) shooting from behind the arc. The junior from Glen Carbon, Ill. also averaged 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and a steal in SIU’s two games last week. Silvey tied her season-high with 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting against Memphis, of which 17 points came in the fourth quarter. At Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Silvey poured in 22 points on 71.4% (10-of-14) shooting. In doing so, it marked just the 30th time in program history that a Saluki has scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games. She also upped her season average to 21.6 points per game- which leads the Valley and ranks 16th nationally.
Shay Frederick (VALPO) - Frederick was instrumental in Valpo’s come-from-behind win over Bowling Green on Sunday, scoring 13 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and adding a pair of key assists in the extra period. Frederick’s 21 points against BGSU matched a career high, while she went 13-of-14 from the foul line, easily setting a new career high for made free throws. Her 13 made free throws tied the fifth-most by a Valpo player in a single game and were the most by a Valpo player since February of 2012. Thursday against Northwestern, Frederick tied for team-high honors with six rebounds.
Mahri Petree (BRAD) - Petree averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal per game, helping Bradley to a pair of wins last week. She came off the bench to notch 14 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in an 84-49 road win at Western Illinois. Petree did the bulk of her scoring in the first half, collecting nine points, five rebounds, one assist and a steal in the opening 20 minutes to help the Braves to a 46-19 halftime lead against a team which made the postseason three of the last four years. Saturday, Petree had five points, three rebounds, a block and a steal in 19 minutes off the bench to help the Braves a 79-68 win over Miami (Ohio), which has 21 or more wins each of the past two seasons and made back-to-back WNIT appearances.
Mary Crompton (ILS) - Crompton posted nine points and four rebounds in each of Illinois State’s games this week to help the Redbirds to a pair of non-conference wins and their best start since the 2007-08 season. In Wednesday’s 69-66 home victory over Northern Illinois, Crompton tallied all nine of her points in the fourth quarter, six of which came from back-to-back three-pointers. The redshirt freshman also hit a season-high three triples in Sunday afternoon’s win at North Dakota, shooting 3-of-7 from behind the arc.
Carie Weinman (VALPO) - Weinman scored a season-best 18 points in Sunday’s overtime win over Bowling Green, hitting 6-of-10 from the field. She led Valpo by going 4-of-8 from 3-point range after going just 4-of-20 from deep in the season’s first four games.