Evansville's Kerri Gasper scored 34 points with seven rebounds, while also hitting the game winner with 7.8 seconds remaining in the Aces 59-56 win at Indiana State, earning her first MVC Player of the Week honor of the season. Bradley's Lasha Petree averaged 20.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in a pair of wins, collecting her fifth Newcomer of the Week honor this season.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Kerri Gasper, Sr., G, Evansville
Senior Kerri Gasper accomplished a feat only three other Aces have ever reached in a 59-56 win over Indiana State on Friday evening. In the win, Gasper scored a career-high 34 points, going 6-7 from three and a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line, while recording seven rebounds, playing all 40 minutes. Gasper’s three-pointer with 7.8 seconds remaining secured the victory for the Aces. Gasper’s 34 points were the most scored by an Ace since Sara Dickey scored 37 points against Murray State on Dec. 3, 2014 and marked only the fourth time in program history that a player scored 34-or-more points.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Lasha Petree, Fr., G, Bradley
Petree averaged a team-best 20.0 points per game in a pair of victories and also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist 0.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game last week. She was 6-for-15 from three-point ranges (40%) and also made 8-of-10 free throws in the wins. Petree turned in her sixth 20-point game of the season in Thursday’s win against Valparaiso, collecting 21 points to go with six rebounds, one assist and one steal. In the final game of the season, she came off the bench to score 12 of her game-high 19 points in the first half. She was 5-for-10 from beyond the arc and also tallied three rebounds, one assist and three steals in just 22 minutes as she helped Bradley earn its 20th victory of the season to mark just the second 20-win season for the Braves at the NCAA Division I level. Petree also moved into second in scoring among Bradley freshman, pushing her season scoring total to 370 points and is the highest scoring MVC freshman since Sara Rhine in 2015-16.
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 turned in two more double-doubles last week, averaging 17.5 points on 50 percent shooting and 12.0 rebounds per game in addition to collecting 0.5 assists, 1.0 block and 1.5 steals per outing in a -pair of victories. In Thursday’s win against Valparaiso, she scored a career-high 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting and also pulled down 13 rebounds. Bradley trailed 47-44 at the half, but Brackmann helped Bradley rally for the victory with 17 points and nine rebounds in the second half. Brackmann made 11-of-12 free throws against the Crusaders and also tallied a pair of blocks. She had 10 points, 11 boards, one assist and three steals in Saturday’s win over Loyola, helping Bradley to its 20th victory of the season to mark just the second 20-win season for the Braves at the NCAA Division I level. Brackmann now has 15 double-doubles for the most in the MVC since 2015-16 and her 300 boards on the year rank as the fourth-best season total in Bradley history in addition to pushing her career rebounding total into seventh among Bradley marks.
Becca Hittner (DU) - Becca Hittner averaged 19.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal while shooting 43.8 percent from the field in Drake’s road wins over SIU and Missouri State. Hittner, who averaged 30.0 minutes on the road trip, scored a game-high 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds, handed out two assists, had one block and nabbed one steal in the victory over the Salukis. She followed that in the Missouri State victory with her second double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds. Hittner added one assist and one steal helping the Bulldogs take sole possession of first place in the MVC standings. Hittner continues to lead the MVC in scoring at 19.7 points per game.
Katrina Beck (ILS) - Senior guard Katrina Beck surpassed her career high Friday night and led all scorers, notching 21 points, shooting 55 percent from the floor and 40 percent from long range. Beck remained consistent from beyond the arc through Sunday, netting 2-of-4 in the 74-53 victory over Valpo. Beck accumulated 35 points over the weekend, which tied for the most by a Redbird, leading ISU to a weekend sweep. The Chicago, Illinois, native also grabbed nine rebounds, two steals and dished out four assists.
Abby O’Connor (LUC) - Loyola sophomore forward Abby O’Connor averaged 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in the Ramblers’ two-game road trip through Central Illinois last week. In Thursday’s matchup with Illinois State, O’Connor chipped in 15 points (6-11 FGs, 3-6 3FGs), grabbed four rebounds and three blocks, tying her career high in the category for the second time in as many games. The South Bend, Ind. product followed up that performance by notching her fifth double-double of the season against Bradley on Saturday afternoon, adding 16 points (6-15 FGs, 2-8 3FGs, 2-2 FTs) and ripping down a career-best 15 rebounds in addition to recording a pair of rejections. O’Connor, who has reached double figures in scoring in 15 of Loyola’s 17 MVC contests, enters the final week of conference play ranked in the top 10 in The Valley in both scoring (9th; 14.1 ppg) and rebounding (5th; 7.4 rpg). She leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage (41.7%), free throw percentage (89.6%) and blocked shots (1.5 bpg).
Brice Calip (MSU) - Brice Calip averaged 10 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.0 steals for the Lady Bears last week. Calip scored a team-high 17 points on Sunday against Drake, adding five rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block while going 7-for-8 at the foul line. Friday, Calip had three points, three boards, three assists and three steals against UNI, and the Lady Bears out-scored the Panthers by 19 points during her 28 minutes on the floor.
Karli Rucker (UNI) - Karli Rucker scored a career-high 28 points to lead UNI to a solid 76-67 road win over Southern Illinois. For the weekend, she was 11-20 (55 percent) from the field and 8-12 (66.7 percent) from the three-point line. She was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. She averaged 18 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on the weekend.
Abby Brockmeyer (SIU) - Abby Brockmeyer averaged 14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals in SIU’s final two home games of the 2019 season. The 2018 MVC Freshman of the Year also shot 81% (17-of-21) from the charity stripe. She finished with 12 points and eight rebounds against No. 23 Drake. The sophomore forward followed with her eighth double-double of the season against Northern Iowa, as she tallied 17 points and 13 boards against the Panthers.
TeTe Maggett (ILS) - TeTe Maggett continues to prove to be a versatile player, accumulating 29 points, five assists, nine rebounds and four steals over the weekend. The junior guard had her 10th 20-point game on Sunday as she led all scorers in the 74-53 victory over the Crusaders. On Friday, Maggett went 3-for-4 from 3-point range, earning all nine points from beyond the arc.
Jasmine Franklin (MSU) - Jasmine Franklin averaged 8.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 steals, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks last week while shooting 58 percent from the field. Friday against UNI, she posted her fifth double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 boards, adding six steals, three assists and three blocks to become the first Lady Bear to post that stat line since Tyonna Snow in 2016. Sunday versus Drake, Franklin had six points, four rebounds and three more steals. Franklin continues to rank second in the MVC with a .575 field goal percentage, and is the only freshman in the nation with at least 35 steals and 35 blocks.
Shay Frederick (VALPO) - Frederick made eight baskets and assisted on seven others, leading the team in both categories this week. She was an efficient 44.4 percent from the field while knocking down four 3-pointers and averaging 11 points per game over two road contests. Frederick started her week by scoring 15 points at Bradley, her top scoring output since a career-high 21 in the first meeting with the Braves. She led the team in both rebounds (4) and assists (3) in Sunday’s game at Illinois State.