Bradley's Lasha Petree scored 24 points with four rebounds and six blocks, shooting 9-of-18 (.500) from the field in a win over rival Illinois State, earning her third MVC Player of the Week honor of the season. Petree becomes the first player in Bradley history to win three MVC Player of the Week honors in the same season and four in a career. Valparaiso redshirt sophomore Carie Weinman averaged 14.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game, while shooting 64.7% from the field in wins at Indiana State and Evansville, earning her second Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Lasha Petree, So., G, Bradley
Petree scored a game-high 24 points and also collected four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a career-high six blocked shots to help Bradley to a 76-61 victory over I-74 rival Illinois State Friday. She scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, including 10 points over the final 12 minutes to help Bradley outscore the Redbirds 26-8 during that stretch. Her six blocks tied for the highest total in the MVC this season and also matched the fourth-best single game total in Bradley history. Petree was the first Bradley player with six or more blocks in a game since December 2015. She was 5-for-7 from the field in the second half as she helped Bradley to its school record 13th straight home victory and ninth consecutive MVC home win.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Carie Weinman, R-So., G, Valparaiso
Valpo’s Carie Weinman averaged 14 points on 64.7% shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game in Valpo’s pair of MVC wins last weekend, helping the Crusaders earn their first two-game sweep of an MVC weekend. She started the weekend with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and four rebounds in the win at Indiana State, and then led the way against Evansville with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including four three-pointers. Weinman also set a career best with six steals in the win over the Purple Aces.
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) - Senior Becca Hittner helped Drake split its first weekend of Missouri Valley Conference road action. Hittner averaged 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from the floor and an impressive 95.2 percent (20-of-21) at the free throw line. In the Bulldogs’ win at SIU, Hittner scored a game-high 20 points, including making 8-of-8 from the free throw line, and added five rebounds and handed out three assists. Against No. 20/18 Missouri State, she scored 16 points, including making 12-of-13 free throws and added a season-high five assists with four rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Hittner is averaging 17.5 points per game.
CeCe Mayo (INS) - CeCe Mayo put together her best string of games in a Sycamore uniform over the weekend against Valparaiso and Loyola. The junior moved into a starting role and averaged 14 points, six rebounds and 2.5 steals per game over the course of the two games. During Friday’s effort against Valparaiso, Mayo tallied 13 points to go along with four boards and four steals. Sunday’s game was even better as she recorded a career-high 15 points and eight rebounds while also dishing out two assists. She also averaged her season-best 25.5 minutes per game.
Abby O’Connor (LUC) - Loyola junior guard/forward Abby O’Connor averaged a double-double (15.0 points, 10.5 rebounds) as the Maroon & Gold swept a pair of games in The Hoosier State over the weekend. In Friday’s 71-61 win at Evansville, O’Connor turned in a dominant second-half performance, erupting for 19 of her game-high 21 points (7-13 FGs, 3-5 3FGs, 4-5 FTs). She also collected 12 rebounds against the Purple Aces, in addition to two assists, a block, and a steal, en route to her team-best fourth double-double of the season. The South Bend, Ind. product narrowly missed out on repeating the feat two days later against Indiana State, finishing with nine points (3-11 FGs, 1-6 3FGs, 2-4 FTs) and nine rebounds in a 58-51 victory over the Sycamores. O’Connor, who enters the week just seven points shy of 1,000 for her career, currently ranks eighth in the MVC in scoring (15.0 ppg) and is averaging 9.8 rebounds since the start of league play, a mark that is tied for The Valley lead.
Sydney Manning (MSU) - Sydney Manning hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer Friday to hand the Lady Bears a 69-67 win over Drake, and averaged a team-high 11 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in a pair of MSU wins. Manning scored a career-high 16 points against the Bulldogs, shooting 5-for-10 overall and 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, adding six boards, three assists, two steals and a block in 24 minutes. In Sunday’s win against UNI, Manning hit two more treys to finish with six points, three boards and three assists in a career-high 27 minutes. She shot 50 percent from beyond the arc on the weekend, including Friday’s game-winner that landed in the No. 7 spot on Sportscenter’s Top 10 that night.
Nicole Martin (SIU) - Nicole Martin averaged 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in SIU’s two home games last weekend. The two-time All-MVC first team selection finished with nine points and a season-best 11 rebounds against the UNI Panthers on Friday night and followed with a team-best 19 points, four boards and three steals against the Drake Bulldogs on Sunday. Martin moved into 13th place on SIU’s all-time scorers list with her 19 points against Drake.
Shay Frederick (VALPO) - Frederick averaged a team-best 15.5 points/game on 60% shooting and a team-high 5 assists/game, helping to lead Valpo to its first two-game sweep of an MVC weekend since joining the conference. The sophomore posted 13 points and five assists in Friday’s win at Indiana State, and then tallied 18 points - her second-highest output of the season - and five assists in Sunday’s win at Evansville. Frederick also matched her career high with six steals against the Purple Aces, which led to 11 points.
Kierra Collier (DU) - Kierra Collier averaged 8.0 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 54.5 percent from the field in her first MVC road games. In the SIU win, she scored 11 points with seven coming after halftime as the Bulldogs completed the comeback for their first league road win.
Abby Feit (UE) - In a pair of conference contests, freshman Abby Feit put together two more impressive performances. On the weekend, Feit averaged 13.5 points and 8.5 boards, while adding 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 2.5 steals per game. Against Loyola, Feit scored 13 points and pulled down 4 rebounds as the Aces battled, but fell to the Ramblers. On Sunday, Feit scored 14 points, while recording a game-high 13 rebounds as Evansville fell to Valpo. The freshman currently leads the Aces in scoring, rebounding, blocks, and minutes played.
JuJu Redmond (ILS) - Illinois State’s JuJu Redmond led the ‘Birds at Bradley on Friday, coming off the bench to record 20 points, while grabbing four boards and adding an assist. It was the third time this season Redmond led the team in total points, as the junior shot 7-of-12 (.583) from the floor and 3-of-4 (.750) from behind the three-point line. Redmond is averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in her debut season for the Redbirds.