Missouri State's Jasmine Franklin collected her fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 13 rebounds in the Lady Bears' 79-72 win over Missouri, earning her second MVC Player of the Week honor of the season. Evansville's Lola Bracy averaged 20.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in a pair of contests for the Purple Aces, collecting her first Newcomer of the Week honor this season.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Jasmine Franklin, So., F, Missouri State
Missouri State’s Jasmine Franklin collected her fifth double-double of the season in Sunday’s win over Missouri, posting 20 points and 13 rebounds. Franklin shot 7-for-8 from the floor and 6-for-7 at the foul line against the Tigers, extending her streak of consecutive field goal makes to 17. She also added a steal in 29 minutes of action.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Lola Bracy, Jr., G, Evansville
Making her debut for the Aces last week, junior Lola Bracy helped lead Evansville on the road at Purdue Fort Wayne and Illinois. Against the Mastodons on Friday night, Bracy poured in a team-high 25 points, scoring Evansville’s first five points of the night and recording 16 points in the first half. Bracy also recorded three rebounds and three steals against Purdue Fort Wayne. On Sunday, Bracy continued her strong opening weekend with 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while drawing five fouls on the Illini.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Tatum Koenig (BRAD) - Koenig scored a career-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting and also collected six rebounds and five assists to help highlight Bradley’s 78-69 win over Jackson State as the Braves extended their win streak to seven games. After scoring eight points in the first half, Koenig nearly matched her previous career-high scoring output of 16 points in the second half as she hit 6-of-7 shots in the final 20 minutes and had 15 second-half points. She helped Bradley push its home win streak to 10, which is tied for the second longest in school history and longest for the Braves since winning 10 straight home games between the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons.
Karli Rucker (UNI) - Karli Rucker scored 19 points against Omaha and nine against Creighton, including a game-tying three-pointer in the final minute to help the Panthers go 2-0 on the week. Rucker was 8-15 from the field with four rebounds, four assists and two steals in the Panthers’ 81-45 road win over Omaha Tuesday. UNI returned home for the final home non-conference game of the year. IUPUI took the lead on a three-pointer with 52 seconds left, on the ensuing possession, Rucker broke out of a shooting slump an buried a three-pointer to tie the game up at 50 with 40 second left. The Panthers went on to win the game 51-50 with Rucker grabbing the game-clinching steal with under a second to play.
Nicole Martin (SIU) - Nicole Martin scored a season-high 24 points on an efficient 10-of-17 shooting, which included her first three-pointer of the season, to go along with six rebounds in SIU’s 76-66 win over Murray State on Sunday. Martin scored 13 of her team-high 24 points in the second half, which included eight in the third quarter. It marks the second time this season, and 10th time in her career, that the two-time All-MVC selection has scored 20-plus points in a game.
Shay Frederick (VALPO) - Frederick led all players in scoring as Valpo won its fourth consecutive game on Sunday with a blowout of UIC. The sophomore scored 12 of her 15 points in the first half, helping to stake the Crusaders to a 18-point halftime advantage.
Kristina Cavey (UNI) - Kristina Cavey averaged 10.5 points on 6-8 shooting from the field and 7-10 from the free-throw line, including the go-ahead free throw with .6 of a second left in the Panthers 51-50 win over IUPUI Sunday afternoon. Against Omaha, she had 11 points in 17 minutes and added a team-high seven rebounds. She also had two steals and no turnovers in the 81-45 win. Sunday, she scored 10 points and grabbed two rebounds and a steal. With the game tied at 50, she grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on the tip-in attempt with less than a second to play. She hit her second free throw to give UNI a 51-50 lead and the win.
Awa Keita (SIU) - Awa Keita notched season-highs in points (7), rebounds (5), minutes played (16), and free throw attempts (7) in SIU’s 76-66 win over Murray State on Sunday. The junior transfer was 2-for-2 from the field and added three free throws to help SIU’s reserves outscore Murray State’s bench, 13-to-6.
Carie Weinman (VALPO) - Weinman connected on multiple 3-pointers for the fourth consecutive game, all of which have been Valpo victories. She finished with eight points and a game-high four assists, the latter mark more than doubling her season total of three assists entering Sunday’s win.