Illinois State's Mary Crompton helped lead the Redbirds to a 2-0 record over the weekend and improve to 3-0 in league play, posting road wins at Indiana State and Evansville. Crompton averaged 16.0 points, 3.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game during the two road wins. The award is Crompton's first career MVC Player of the Week honor. Crompton also becomes the third different Redbird to earn Player of the Week honors this season, joining Juliunn Redmond and DeAnna Wilson.
Valparaiso junior guard Olivia Brown helped the Beacons to a 2-0 mark during the week, beating UNI and Drake back-to-back for the first time in program history. Brown averaged 14.5 points per game, while shooting 61.1% from the field and 62.5% from behind the arc in the two wins, earning her first Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Mary Crompton, R-Jr., G, Illinois State
Illinois State guard Mary Crompton averaged 16.0 points 3.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds to help the ‘Birds go 2-0 this weekend and improve on ISU’s best start in conference play since the 2007-08 campaign. Crompton finished with 10 points in Illinois State’s Friday victory over Indiana State, tallying three rebounds, three assists and a steal in 33 minutes of action. The Iowa City, Iowa-native went on to put up a career-high 22 points versus Evansville on Sunday, going a blistering 6-of-7 from behind the arc while also dishing out a team-high four assists. Crompton leads the Valley in three-point percentage, shooting at a 41.9% clip and has made multiple threes in 12 of 14 games this year, including ISU’s last eight contests.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Olivia Brown, Jr., G, Valparaiso
Junior guard Olivia Brown continued her strong start to MVC play with a pair of stellar performances as Valpo swept UNI and Drake for the first time since joining the Valley. Brown led all players on Friday with 18 points in the win over UNI, hitting 7-of-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range. Her basket with 1:15 remaining gave Valpo its first lead of the game. Then, on Sunday versus Drake, Brown tallied 11 points to help Valpo to its first-ever win over the Bulldogs. For the weekend, Brown paced the Beacons, averaging 14.5 points per game on 61.1% shooting and 62.5% from three-point range.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Caroline Waite (BU) - In Bradley’s first two games without fifth-year senior guard Gabi Haack, Waite picked up some of the scoring slack by leading the Braves offensively in both games this past week … Waite scored a team-high 18 points Friday at Evansville by draining 6-of-11 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc … Waite again paced the Braves in scoring Sunday at Indiana State, finishing with 15 points, while logging the full 40 minutes for the first time in her career … For the two games in Indiana, Waite averaged 16.5 points, while sinking 8-of-16 (.500) 3-point field goal attempts.
Maddie Petersen (DU) - Petersen played all but 15 minutes in the Bulldogs pair of road games. A normal starter for Drake, she stepped up playing in numerous areas of the court in the absence of three starters. She combined for 20 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. She is nearing two milestones in her career – 1000 points and 500 assists. She currently needs 38 points and 7 assists to meet the milestone.
Abby Feit (UE) - Continuing a strong start to 2022, junior Abby Feit led the Aces in a weekend split of Valley contests. On the weekend, Feit averaged 18.5 points and eight boards, while knocking-down six triples, nearing closer to the 1,000 point mark. Against Bradley, Feit recorded her eighth double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the 74-73 win. Feit followed it up with a 17-point performance against the Redbirds on Sunday.
Marie Hunter (INS) - Hunter averaged 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals across two games last week, recording her first double-double of the season in the process. She opened the week with eight points, one assist and one steal against Illinois State, then followed that with one of the best games of her career. Playing all 40 minutes for the Sycamores, Hunter had a career-high 22 points on an 11-of-15 shooting clip (.733), along with 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in Indiana State’s win over Bradley. It was the first 20-point game of her career and her second career double-double.
Allison Day (LUC) - Loyola senior forward Allison Day paced the Ramblers over the weekend with 11.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists across two contests. After putting up eight points (3-8 FGs, 2-2 FTs), four rebounds, and three assists in Friday’s 63-46 win over Drake, Day led the Ramblers in Sunday’s tilt with Northern Iowa, recording her 11th career double-double with 14 points (6-11 FGs, 2-2 FTs) and 10 rebounds in addition to three assists. The Russellville, Ohio product, who enters Thursday’s matchup with Bradley just four points shy of 1,000 for her career, is averaging a team-high 13.2 points in the Ramblers’ last five games.
Grace Boffeli (UNI) - In UNI’s first weekend of MVC play, Boffeli recorded her first collegiate double-double and was one rebound and basket shy of a second. Over two games this week, Boffeli averaged 10.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg, and 1 steal. Against Valparaiso, Boffeli had her first double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds and set several career highs including points in a game, minutes played, and steals. In the Panther’s game against Loyola, Boffeli had 8 points and 9 rebounds.
Leah Earnest (VU) - Earnest averaged 12 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on 57.9% shooting in leading Valpo to its first weekend sweep of UNI and Drake since joining the Valley. Earnest scored nine points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds in the Friday win over UNI, delivering the assist on Valpo’s basket with 1:15 to play which gave the Beacons the lead for the first time. On Sunday against Drake, Earnest went 7-of-11 from the floor for 15 points and again led the team with seven rebounds to help Valpo to its first-ever win over Drake.
Megan Meyer (DU) - Meyer played all but 14 minutes in the Bulldogs pair of road games over the weekend. For the weekend, she combined for 22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, and 3 steals. She stepped up and led the Bulldogs offensively in the absence of three of the starters. She found the basket despite being tightly guarded by opponents. She ended the weekend playing a total of 66 minutes. She also shot 100 percent from the free throw line against both Loyola and Valpo.
Myia Clark (UE) - Back-to-back double-digit performances highlighted a strong weekend for senior Myia Clark. Against Bradley, Clark poured-in a game-high 25 points, while grabbing seven rebounds and drawing nine fouls on the Braves. Clark hit three triples and knocked-down eight free throws, including four straight late that helped seal the Aces win, snapping a nine-game winning streak for the Braves in the series. On the weekend, Clark averaged 18 points, 4.5 boards, and 2.5 assists, while hitting 14 free throws.
Kenzie Bowers (ILS) - Illinois State freshman guard Kenzie Bowers averaged 10.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in ISU’s two wins over the weekend, helping the ‘Birds to their best start in conference play since the 2007-08 campaign. Bowers stepped up to play point guard for an injured Maya Wong on Friday versus Indiana State, recording 11 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists in 31 minutes on the court in her second career start. The Kent City, Mich.-native went on to flirt with a double-double in ISU’s Sunday victory over Evansville, putting up nine points and collecting a career-high eight boards. Bowers is averaging 4.1 points in her debut season with the Redbirds.
Anna McKendree (INS) - McKendree averaged 10 points, 3.5 assists and two steals across two games for Indiana State. The junior guard proved her worth as both a scorer and distributor last week. McKendree had a career-high 18 points against Illinois State and followed that with a career-high six assists in a win over Bradley. She continues to be one of the top defenders in the Valley, recording three steals against Illinois State and another one against Bradley.