Bradley's Gabi Haack averaged 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game as the Braves remained perfect in Valley play, earning her third MVC Player of the Week honor this season. Illinois State junior Juliunn Redmond averaged 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game as the Redbirds split with Drake and UNI, earning her first Newcomer of the Week award.
This week's Player of the Week award marks the fourth-straight for Bradley, becoming the first team in Valley women's basketball history to win the weekly award four-straight weeks.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Gabi Haack, Jr., G, Bradley
Haack averaged a team-best 16.5 points per game in addition to collecting 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game in a pair of historic wins for Bradley. In Friday’s win against UNI, which snapped a 16-game losing skid in the series, Haack had eight points, six rebounds and three assists without a turnover. While she had a bit of an off-shooting night offensively, she helped the Braves limit Northern Iowa to its second lowest scoring output of the season in the 61-47 victory. In Saturday’s win against Drake, Haack turned in one of her best performances of the year; collecting a season-best 25 points in addition to matching a career-high 12 rebounds. Bradley trailed by six midway through the first quarter when Haack had 11 points during a 14-0 BU run. The victory ended a 12-game losing skid in the series with the Bulldogs as Bradley improved to 7-0 to start MVC play for the first time in program history and picked up its eighth consecutive win overall to tie for the third longest win streak in Bradley history.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Juliunn Redmond, Jr., G, Illinois State
Illinois State junior Juliunn Redmond recorded 14 points and six rebounds in both of ISU’s games this weekend as the Redbirds split a pair of MVC home contests against UNI and Drake. Redmond was responsible for all six of Illinois State’s overtime points in their narrow loss to Drake on Friday, 69-67. She also shot 50 percent from behind the three-point line and a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe on the weekend. The junior is averaging 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in Valley play this season.
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 a pair of road games this past weekend. Hittner averaged 22.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 35.3 percent from three (6-of-17), 41.2 percent (14-of-34) from the floor and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the free throw line. In Drake’s win over Illinois, she scored 16 points and equaled a career-high with five steals. In the Bulldogs’ one-point loss at Bradley, she scored a game-high 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Hittner leads the MVC in overall scoring at 17.8 points per game and in league action with a 21.8 percent clip.
TeTe Maggett (ILS) - Senior guard TeTe Maggett averaged 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists as the Redbirds split a pair of MVC contests over the weekend. Maggett had a game-high 19 points in Friday’s 69-67 loss to Drake, 14 of which came in the second half to help force an overtime with the reigning regular season champions. The senior also contributed 15 points in Sunday’s victory over UNI, also adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Abby O’Connor (LUC) - Loyola junior forward Abby O’Connor finished with a team-high 16 points in the Ramblers’ 66-64 setback to Valparaiso on Friday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The South Bend, Ind. native finished 5-of-8 from the field, connecting on 2-of-4 attempts from beyond the three-point arc, as she reached double figures in scoring for a team-best 14th time this season. O’Connor, who also collected seven rebounds and recorded a pair of blocks against the Crusaders, currently ranks 10th overall in the MVC in scoring, averaging 14.1 points across her 18 appearances.
Alexa Willard (MSU) - Alexa Willard averaged 18 points on 56 percent shooting last week, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 at the foul line. Willard scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting Friday at Indiana State, including 13 points with a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter. Sunday, the senior went 5-of-9 from the field with 13 points against Evansville. Willard added four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the two wins, and moved up three spots to 16th on MSU’s career scoring list.
Makenzie Silvey (SIU) - Makenzie Silvey averaged 17.0 points on 63.6-percent (14-for-22) shooting to go along with 4.0 rebounds in SIU’s back-to-back road wins over the weekend. The Glen Carbon, Ill. native scored 11 points in Southern’s 70-57 win at Evansville. She followed with a game-high 23 points on an efficient 9-of-12 shooting in SIU’s 78-55 win at Indiana State. It marked the seventh time this season that the junior guard has scored 20-plus points in a game.
Shay Frederick (VALPO) - Frederick led the way as Valpo put together an epic rally to defeat Loyola in its lone game last week, scoring all seven Valpo points in the final 20 seconds, including the game-winning 3-point play with 5.2 to play. She also connected on a layup with 19.7 remaining and two free throws with 12 seconds to go, as well as assisting on a 3-pointer with 52.2 seconds to play to make it a one-possession game for the first time in the second half. Frederick totaled 14 points in the fourth quarter alone, spearheading the rally, which saw Valpo overcome a deficit which was as large as 13 points in the fourth quarter and was still 11 points with three minutes to play. She tied her career bests for both scoring (21 points) and rebounding (six boards) while also tying for game-high honors with five assists.
Mahri Petree (BRAD) - Petree averaged 6.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in a pair of home wins to help Bradley hold on to sole possession of first-place in the MVC standings. She had eight points, four rebounds and one assist in Friday’s 61-47 victory over UNI, which snapped a 16-game losing streak in the all-time series. Petree saw extended minutes in Saturday’s win against Drake with three BU starters picking up two fouls in the first 12 minutes of the game. She finished with five points and four boards in the win to snap a 12-game Bradley losing streak in the series. Petree helped Bradley earn its eighth consecutive win overall (tied for third longest win streak in program history) as the Braves improved to 7-0 to start Valley play for the first time in school history.
Abby Feit (UE) - Facing SIU and Missouri State, freshman Abby Feit continued her impressive first year as an Ace. Against SIU, Feit filled the box score, scoring a team-high 16 points and pulling-down six rebounds, while adding five assists, four steals, and two blocks. On Sunday against No. 22 Missouri State, Feit again scores in double-figures, tallying 12 points for Evansville.
Jala Johnson (LUC) - Loyola freshman guard Jala Johnson fell just shy of matching her season high in the Ramblers’ 66-64 defeat at Valparaiso on Friday evening, chipping in 12 points. Out of Toledo, Ohio, Johnson came off the bench to operate at a 5-of-7 clip from the field in 16 minutes of action, also grabbing a pair of rebounds. She’s now scored in double figures five times in her 15 appearances this season.
Gabby Walker (SIU) - Walker averaged 8.0 points, 2.0 boards and 2.5 assists in SIU’s back-to-back road wins over the weekend. The redshirt junior scored six points off the bench in the comeback win at Evansville and followed with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting to go along with three assists in the victory over Indiana State. The St. Charles, Mo. native made her first start of the season against the Sycamores and has now scored in double figures in five games this season.
Zoe MacKay Zacker (VALPO) - MacKay Zacker, who entered Friday’s game against Loyola having played just 19 minutes total all year and having not appeared in a game with a final margin of closer than 19 points, was ready when her number was called against the Ramblers. Despite playing just 13 seconds in all, she had two of the biggest plays to cap Valpo’s epic rally for the win. First, with 12 seconds to play and Loyola inbounding the ball up by one, MacKay Zacker took a charge before the ball was inbounded to give Valpo possession and a chance to take the lead. Then, after the Crusaders took the lead with 5.2 seconds to go, MacKay Zacker got her hand on the ensuing inbounds pass, deflecting it away from its intended target and forcing the Ramblers to scramble for a last-second shot which was off the mark.