Illinois State's DeAnna Wilson helped lead the Redbirds to a 77-66 win over Saint Louis in the non-conference finale. Wilson scored a career-high 23 points with 13 rebounds, earning her fifth career double-double. The award is Wilson's first career MVC Player of the Week honor.
Drake freshman Katie Dinnebier scored 14 points with four assists as the Bulldogs beat Minnesota to close out the non-conference schedule, earning her first Newcomer of the Week honor of the season.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
DeAnna Wilson, Jr, F, Illinois State
Illinois State junior forward DeAnna Wilson had a career-high 23 points with 13 rebounds in Monday afternoon’s 77-66 win over Saint Louis, also earning her fifth career double-double. She recorded only one personal foul in the contest and drew eight from the Billikens. Wilson is the first Redbird to score 23+ points with 13+ rebounds since Dec. 4, 2010, when Emily Hanley had 24 points and 13 boards in a 94-56 victory over UIC.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Katie Dinnebier, Fr., G, Drake
Freshman guard Katie Dinnebier led the Bulldogs in a 77-63 win over Minnesota. The freshman scored 14 points and recorded four assists in the win over the Gophers. She recorded three of her four assists in the fourth quarter and leads the Bulldogs in assists this season with 45. She also leads the Bulldog freshman in points per game this season, averaging 10.6 ppg. She also leads the team in steals this season with 22 entering conference play.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Je’Naiya Davis (UE) - For the fourth time in seven games as an Ace, junior guard Je’Naiya Davis led Evansville in scoring against Butler on Wednesday. On the road in the non-conference finale, Davis poured-in a team-high 24 points, including a 7-for-8 afternoon from the free-throw line, while adding a career-best seven rebounds. The 24-point performance was the third game for Davis this season with 24-points or more, the only player in The Valley to have done so this season.
Allison Day (LUC) - Loyola senior forward Allison Day finished just a point shy of matching her season high in the Ramblers’ 66-52 win over previously unbeaten Cleveland State last Tuesday, putting up 19 points (8-16 FGs, 3-4 FTs), two rebounds, three assists, and a steal against the Vikings. Day’s effort marked the seventh time this season that the Russellville, Ohio native has reached double figures in scoring, a mark which leads the Rambler roster. She enters Missouri Valley Conference play averaging a team-high 10.7 points across 11 appearances and is just 51 points shy of hitting the 1,000-point mark for her collegiate career.
Brice Calip (MSU) - Calip led the Lady Bears in their 60-46 victory in their lone game of the week against Toledo on Tuesday. The sixth-year senior dropped 17 points, her second-highest scoring performance of the season, against the Rockets, while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists. Calip led MSU by going 2-for-3 from behind the arc and connected on five of six free throw attempts. The all-time leader in Lady Bear wins also tacked on two steals in a team-high 39 minutes on the floor, as MSU remained undefeated at home and improved to 9-2 on the season.
Grace White (VU) - White led Valpo as the Beacons enjoyed their best offensive output of the year in their win over Detroit Mercy. White knocked down four of Valpo’s season-high 14 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 19 points. The MVC leader in steals, White also came up with three of Valpo’s 11 thefts in the victory.
Jada Stinson (ILS) - Stinson turned in an all-around performance, posting eight points, seven rebounds and five assists in Monday’s 77-66 win over Saint Louis.
Mariah White (MSU) - Toledo native Mariah White was the second leading scorer for the Lady Bears after posting a 14-point performance against Toledo in MSU’s 60-46 victory on Tuesday. White recorded her fourth start of the season against the Rockets and logged her fifth double-digit scoring performance of the year. The graduate transfer grabbed three rebounds and two steals, which marked her sixth multi-steal game this season. White paced the Lady Bears by going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, setting season highs in both free throws made and attempts.
Olivia Brown (VU) - Brown scored five of her seven points in the fourth quarter of Valpo’s win over Detroit Mercy, helping the Beacons pull away to a 12-point win after leading by just one through three quarters. Brown added three assists without a turnover as well as Valpo captured its second straight win.