Drake's Becca Hittner averaged 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as the Bulldogs claimed road wins over Loyola and Valpo, earning the 8th MVC Player of the Week honor of her career and second of the season. Valparaiso sophomore Carie Weinman averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 steals per game, while shooting 66.7% from the field as Valpo earned its first win over UNI as a member of The Valley and nearly knocked off Drake for the first time in program history, earning her second Newcomer of the Week honor this season.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Becca Hittner, Sr., G, Drake
Senior Becca Hittner nearly averaged a double-double in a pair of Drake road wins this past weekend. In the victories over Loyola and Valparaiso, Hittner, averaged 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from the floor and 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from beyond the arc. In the first win at Loyola, Hittner recorded her sixth double-double with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists. She knocked down four three-pointers to move past 250 career three-pointers. In the final win at Valpo, Hittner poured in a game-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. She made two three-pointers against the Crusaders and has 255 threes in her career. Hittner leads the MVC in scoring at 18.6 points per game and scored 20-plus points in 11 games this season and 35 times in her career.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Carie Weinman, R-So., G, Valparaiso
Weinman averaged 13.5 ppg on 66.7% shooting and tallied 4.5 steals as Valpo earned its first win over UNI as a member of The Valley and nearly knocked off Drake for the first time in program history. The sophomore kicked off the week with a perfect 6-of-6 shooting performance in the UNI win, including a key three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire and 1:59 to play to extend Valpo’s lead to six. Weinman also registered five steals in the win over the Panthers. She then finished with 13 points and a game-high four steals against Drake on Sunday.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Gabi Haack (BRAD) - Haack shot an impressive 73.3 percent from the field (11-of-15), including 62.5% from three-point range (5-for-8), while scoring a team-best 19.5 points per game in a pair of games. She started the week by making 8-of-11 free throws and scoring 15 points to go with five rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals in a 61-57 win over Southern Illinois as the Braves earned their 20th win of the season. She followed it up with a game-high 24 points, including 11 points during Bradley’s fourth quarter run, to help Bradley cut what was a 20-point third-quarter deficit to one in the closing seconds against #17/21 Missouri State. Haack was 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in the game against the Bears as she broke the Renaissance Coliseum career scoring record in addition to hitting her 200th career three-pointer.
A’Niah Griffin (UE) - In just one game this weekend, sophomore A’Niah Griffin recorded the performance of her career. Against Indiana State on Friday, Griffin set a new career-high, scoring a team-high 17 points, along with drawing seven fouls and recording four rebounds.
TeTe Maggett (ILS) - Senior TeTe Maggett averaged 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists to help the ‘Birds go 2-0 over the weekend and collect their first win over a ranked team in more than 28 years. In Thursday’s upset victory of No. 17/21 Missouri State, Maggett led all scorers with 24 points, recording 17 points in the fourth quarter alone while going 3-of-4 from behind the arc. She also posted game-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (six). The senior added eight points in ISU’s Sunday win over Southern Illinois, going 4-of-4 from the free throw line to secure the regular season sweep of the Salukis on her Senior Day.
Caitlin Anderson (INS) - Caitlin Anderson led the Sycamores to victory at Evansville on Friday, helping the Trees to the season sweep over the Purple Aces. The freshman recorded career-high points, rebounds and minutes at UE, leading ISU with 27 points while also pulling down eight rebounds and recording two assists and two steals in 30 minutes. Anderson also secured the victory down the stretch, ending the game a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. She’s the first Sycamore to go 11-for-11 since Kelsey Luna ended a perfect 12-for-12 against SIU on Mar. 11, 2010.
Tiara Wallace (LUC) - Loyola senior guard Tiara Wallace continued her fantastic play of late this past weekend, averaging 20.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.5 steals. Wallace was a force on both ends of the floor in Friday’s clash with Drake, finishing with 15 points (7-15 FGs, 1-2 FTs), six rebounds, six assists, a block, and a career-high tying five steals. The Berkeley, Ill. native saved her best for Sunday’s Senior Day clash with UNI, tying a career-high with 26 points (11-19 FGs, 1-4 3FGs, 3-5 FTs) in addition to four rebounds and two assists. Wallace, who has cracked the 20-point mark three times in the last six games, is averaging 16.0 points across Loyola’s last seven contests.
Alexa Willard (MSU) - Alexa Willard averaged 15.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game last week, moving up to 12th on MSU’s career scoring list with 1,494 points. Willard scored a team-high 19 points Sunday at Bradley, adding three boards and going 4-for-4 at the foul line, including two clinchers with 1.4 seconds remaining. Thursday at Illinois State, Willard had 12 points, three assists and two steals, and has now scored at least nine points in every game this season with 26 double-figure efforts.
Karli Rucker (UNI) - Karli Rucker averaged 22 points, 3.5 assists and went 18-28 from the field to help the Panthers earn a road split. Sunday, she scored her 1,000th career point in fourth quarter to become the 25th Panther to join the 1,000-point club. She scored 24 points in the win over Loyola and 20 against Valparaiso, both team highs.
Abby Brockmeyer (SIU) - Brockmeyer averaged 11.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game as SIU concluded the road portion of its 2019-20 schedule. Brockmeyer scored 12 points to go along with seven boards and three steals against Bradley and followed with her fourth double-double of the season against Illinois State. The Raymond, Ill. native tallied 11 points, 12 rebounds and two steals.
Shay Frederick (VALPO) - Frederick led Valpo last week as it earned its first win over UNI as a member of the Valley and nearly knocked off Drake for the first time in program history. The sophomore scored a game-high and career-best 22 points in the win over the Panthers, adding four assists without a turnover as well. She then scored all 15 of her points after halftime against Drake in the near miss while also leading all players with six assists and tallying three steals. Frederick, who ranks third in the Valley in both assists and assist/TO ratio, is now just four assists shy of Valpo’s single-season top-10 chart.
Kierra Collier (DU) - Redshirt sophomore Kierra Collier, the reigning MVC Newcomer of the Week, averaged 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game in the 2-0 road trip. Collier scored 10 points and handed out three assists in the win at Loyola. She followed that with another 10 points and added two steals in the victory at Valpo. In her first season, Collier is averaging 9.1 points and 2.8 assists per game.
Abby Feit (UE) - Contributing in all facets of the game, freshman Abby Feit helped the Aces in a matchup with Indiana State. On Friday, Feit earned her fifth double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and tallying 13 rebounds, while also adding three assists and two blocks. The 12-point performance was Feit’s 22nd double-figure scoring performance of the season.
JuJu Redmond (ILS) - Junior Juliunn Redmond averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists to help the ‘Birds go 2-0 over the weekend and collect their first win over a ranked team in more than 28 years. Redmond contributed six points in Thursday night’s upset victory over No. 17/21 Missouri State, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists. The junior finished with 13 points in Sunday’s win over Southern Illinois, shooting 4-of-5 (80 percent) from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.