Illinois State's Juliunn Redmond scored a career-high 30 points, while shooting over 70% from the field in the Redbirds' road win at SIUE Saturday. The award is Redmond's first MVC Player of the Week honor of her career after winning three Newcomer of the Week honors during the 2019-20 season.
Evansville junior Je'Naiya Davis averaged 20.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in wins over Bellarmine and Morehead State this past week, earning her second Newcomer of the Week honor of the season.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Juliunn Redmond, 5th, G, Illinois State
Illinois State guard Juliunn Redmond put up a career-high 30 points in the Redbirds’ 80-71 win at SIUE on Saturday, also adding four rebounds and three assists. Redmond, who has now scored 20+ points in three of the last four games, scored 18 of her 30 points in the final quarter. Redmond is only the third MVC player to eclipse 30 points in a game this year and is the first Redbird to do so since Lexi Wallen had 35 points in a 2OT win at home over Loyola on Feb. 14, 2020.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Je’Naiya Davis, Jr., G, Evansville
Becoming a trend, junior Je’Naiya Davis again put in an impressive scoring performance this week. In an 89-83 road victory over Bellarmine, Davis became one of 13 players this season with two performances of 29 points-or-more, dropping 29 against the Knights, including a 12-14 effort at the charity stripe. Following up the performances, Davis scored in double-digits again with 12 points in just 21 minutes, adding six rebounds in the 30-point victory over Morehead State. On the season, Davis has scored in double-figures in all six contests, averaging a team-best 20 points per game.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Courtney Becker (DU) - Becker leads the team in rebounding this season. Between the Bulldogs two games this past week, she recorded 22. Against Simpson, she recorded her first double-double of the season – 10 points, 13 rebounds. Becker leads the Bulldogs defensive efforts when it comes to rebounds and is ranked 8th in the conference for her efforts this season.
Abby Feit (UE) - It would not be another week of basketball without junior Abby Feit doing something that no one in the nation has done in years. In an 89-83 road win over Bellarmine on Tuesday, Feit scored 15 points, while tying a career-high with 18 rebounds, to go along with five assists, four steals, and three blocks. The stat line was the first of its kind since Feb. 12, 2012 and had only been accomplished four times since the 2008-09 season. Feit followed up the stat-sheet filling effort with another solid performance on Saturday in a 79-49 win over Morehead State. Against the Eagles, Feit recorded 15 points, five boards, and three assists in just 24 minutes of action, the second-fewest minutes played by Feit in her career, allowing the junior to get much-needed rest as the non-conference campaign wanes. On the season, Feit continues to lead the MVC in five statistical categories, including scoring, where the Normal, Ill. averages 18.9 points per game.
Sam Galanopoulos (LUC) - Loyola junior guard Sam Galanopoulos averaged a team-high 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in leading the Ramblers to a pair of victories last week. Galanopoulos opened her week by putting up 13 points (5-9 FGs, 2-4 3FGs, 1-2 FTs), five rebounds, and four assists in Wednesday’s 58-48 win over Eastern Illinois in Rogers Park. The Skokie, Ill. native scored seven of Loyola’s last nine points as the Maroon & Gold moved to a perfect 5-0 at home. She followed that up performance by connecting on a career-high five three-point field goals as part of a career-best tying 17-point effort in a 69-48 road victory over defending Mid-American Conference Tournament champion Central Michigan on Saturday. Galanopoulos is playing some of the best basketball of her collegiate career of late, averaging 11.4 points and 2.6 assists over her last five games.
Jasmine Franklin (MSU) - Jasmine Franklin led the Lady Bears on the week by averaging 14 ppg and 12 rpg against South Dakota State and Missouri. On Monday, Franklin dropped 15 points on 50 percent shooting and grabbed nine rebounds on the road at South Dakota State. She also blocked four shots, marking the fifth time this season she has recorded four or more blocks, and forced two steals against the Jackrabbits. On Friday night against in-state rival and Power Five foe Missouri, Franklin secured her seventh double-double of the season with a 13-point, 15-rebound performance in the Lady Bears’ third consecutive victory against the Tigers. Franklin’s double-double against Missouri also marked her fourth double-double in five games against Power Five opponents this season. On the week, Franklin shot 58 percent from the field and 67 percent from the free throw line, while playing the second-most minutes for the Lady Bears.
Kam Finley (UNI) - Finley set a career high in scoring and averaged double-digits across two games this past week. Finley averaged 16.5 points per game, 3.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds over two games. Finley also set a career high in points in the Panthers loss to #15 Iowa State with 28 points and making 6 treys. With her strong 3-point shooting this week, Finley moved up to 34th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage and second in the Valley.
Abby Brockmeyer (SIU) - SIU graduate forward Abby Brockmeyer scored a game-high 18 points in a 70-45 victory over Quincy last week. Brockmeyer also grabbed six rebounds as well as a team-leading four steals. The graduate forward shot 8-of-13 (61.5%) on the day. Brockmeyer has now scored at least 14 points in five-straight games, is third in the Missouri Valley in scoring average (18) and second in rebounds per game (11.3). Brockmeyer leads the conference in offensive rebounds, averaging 4.7 per game and is second in field goal percentage (57.5%).
Katie Dinnebier (DU) - Dinnebier continues to leave her impact on the Bulldogs as she is leading the team in ways other than scoring. She recorded 15 points against Simpson College, shooting 100% from the arc. She missed only one shot the entire night. She grabbed three rebounds and three steals against the Storm. Against Northern Illinois, she recorded 10 points, to make it her third game in a row scoring in double digits and her fifth game this season. She also recorded three steals to make it the third game in a row grabbing three or more. Dinnebier also recorded six assists in the Bulldogs win over the Huskies, making it her fifth game this season to record five or more assists. She is ranked fourth in the MVC for assists this season and eight for steals. In two games, she shot 70% or greater in all areas of the floor. She also tallied seven rebounds, seven assists, and six steals.
Mariah White (MSU) - Graduate transfer Mariah White was one of three Lady Bears to average 10 or more points this week, with 12.5 ppg to pair with two rebounds per game. White shot 58 percent from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line last week, while also averaging three steals per game in just under 50 minutes on the floor. On Monday, White led Missouri State with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, as she helped the Lady Bears snap the Jackrabbits’ 15-game home winning streak in Brookings. White also racked up four steals and three assists in her fourth double-digit scoring performance of the season at SDSU. On Friday night, White earned her second start of the season and contributed eight points (50% FG), two rebounds and two steals as the Lady Bears defeated in-state rival and Power Five opponent Missouri for the third consecutive season.