Illinois State's DeAnna Wilson helped lead the Redbirds to a 2-0 record over the weekend and improve to 5-0 in league play, posting wins at home over Valparaiso and Loyola. Wilson averaged 21.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 59.1% from the field during the two home wins. The award is Wilson's second career MVC Player of the Week honor.
Drake junior guard Megan Meyer led the Bulldogs in a pair of home losses to Southern Illinois and Missouri State over the weekend. Meyer averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game in the two contests, earning her first Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
DeAnna Wilson, Jr., F, Illinois State
Illinois State forward DeAnna Wilson led the Redbirds in scoring in each of its two wins over the weekend, averaging 21.5 points and 5.0 rebounds to help the ‘Birds remain perfect in conference play. Wilson had a game-high 18 points, four rebounds and two steals in Thursday’s victory versus Valparaiso. The junior then poured in a career-high 25 points in Saturday’s weekend finale with Loyola, going a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line and grabbing six boards. Wilson averages a team-best 14.8 points per game and leads the Valley with 62 free throws made on the year.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Megan Meyer, Jr., G, Drake
Meyer continues to dominate for the Bulldogs. Meyer averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game during the week as the Bulldogs faced Southern Illinois and Missouri State. She recorded seven points, five rebounds, four assists and six steals against the Salukis and added 16 points, six boards, one assist and two steals in a loss to Missouri State. She has scored double-digits in 11 of the Bulldogs 17 games this season and recorded 12 games with at least one steal. She has stepped up to play more of a point guard position in the absence of graduate Maddie Petersen who is out with a left-hand injury.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Tatum Koenig (BU) - Looking to step up her offensive production in the absence of the program’s career scoring leader, Gabi Haack, senior point guard Tatum Koenig averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds in Bradley’s two games last week … Playing all 40 minutes in both games against Loyola Chicago and Valparaiso, Koenig had six points, five assists (no turnovers) and two steals in Thursday’s matchup against the Ramblers … Logging 40 minutes for the fifth time in eight games, Koenig came back Saturday against Valpo to match her career bests with 23 points and five 3-point field goals to go along with six rebounds and three assists against the Beacons.
Maggie Bair (DU) - Bair picked up right where she left off. After missing two games due to being In COVID Protocol, she came back to finish with a stat line of 27 points, 5 blocks, 2 assists, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and 48 minutes in two games. She scored 18 points against SIU, leading the Bulldogs in shooting from the floor. She has recorded double digit scoring in 11 of her 15 games this season.
Maya Chandler (LUC) - Loyola sophomore guard Maya Chandler averaged 14.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists as the Ramblers split a pair of contests in Central Illinois last week. Chandler was on fire from distance in Thursday’s 48-41 win over Bradley, hitting on a career-high five triples as part of a game-best 19-point (6-16 FGs, 5-10 3FGs, 2-2 FTs) effort. The Martinsville, Ind. product followed up that performance by adding 10 points (3-13 FGs, 2-9 3FGs, 2-2 FTs) in Saturday’s weekend finale at Illinois State. Chandler, the reigning MVC Freshman of the Year, has scored in double figures nine times this season and is averaging 11.7 points across her last four outings.
Abi Jackson (MSU) - Abi Jackson led the Missouri State Lady Bears this past weekend with 13 ppg to pair with seven rpg. The fifth-year senior shot .526 (10-for-19) from the field and 75 percent (6-for-8) from the free throw line as the Lady Bears split their weekend contests at UNI and Drake. On Thursday night, Jackson tied her career highs in points and rebounds after turning in a team-leading 18 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. On Saturday afternoon at Drake, Jackson scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds on 2-for-3 shooting from the field, while going a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Since taking over for Jasmine Franklin in the starting lineup, Jackson leads the Lady Bears in conference play with 12 ppg and 8.5 rpg, while blocking a team high eight shots in just under 25 minutes per game.
Karli Rucker (UNI) - It was another stellar week for UNI point guard Karli Rucker as she led the Panthers in points for two key Missouri Valley Conference wins. Rucker averaged 18.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1 assist in 64 minutes of play against Missouri State and Southern Illinois. Rucker particularly shined at the free throw line for the Panthers this week, shooting 83.3% from the charity stripe and missing just two baskets out of 12 attempts. With only three turnovers this week, Rucker climbed to second in the MVC in assist to turnover ratio at 1.93.
Gabi Walker (SIU) - SIU graduate forward Gabby Walker averaged 18.5 points per game last week, including helping secure the Salukis’ first win against Drake since 2016. On Thursday against the Bulldogs, Walker scored 17 points and added six rebounds and five assists. Walker shot 8-of-13 (61.5%) in the contest. In Saturday’s battle with UNI, Walker led the Salukis with 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Eight of Walker’s points came from the free-throw line, as she drew six fouls from the Panthers. Walker currently ranks 11th in the MVC in scoring with 12.6 per game, and is third in field goal percentage, shooting 53.6%.
Grace White (VU) - White averaged a team-best 14 points/game to go with 5.5 rebounds/game and 3 steals/game last weekend as the Beacons split their central Illinois road trip. White paced Valpo with 16 points off the bench Thursday at Illinois State and tied for team-high honors with 7 rebounds. White then set a career high and a Valpo season best with six steals Saturday in Valpo’s win at Bradley - the program’s first-ever road win over the Braves. White registered 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in the victory in addition to the six steals, which Valpo turned into nine points on the offensive end.
Sierra Morrow (BU) - Bouncing back from her absence due to COVID protocols, Morrow averaged 9.0 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds in Bradley’s two games last week … Morrow, who is averaging 7.0 rebounds per game in her first three career Valley games, put up eight points, seven rebounds and a steal Thursday against Loyola Chicago … She followed by making 3-of-4 field goal attempts, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, for 10 points Saturday against Valparaiso, adding seven rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Ifunanya Nwachukwu (MSU) - As the Lady Bears split the weekend at UNI and Drake, junior college transfer Ifunanya Nwachukwu averaged 5.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg, while shooting .800 (4-for-5) from the field and .500 (2-for-4) from the free throw line. On Saturday afternoon at Drake, Nwachukwu scored a career high 10 points to pair with 10 rebounds to record her first career double-double. Nwachukwu went 4-for-5 from the field against the Bulldogs in a career high 24 minutes on the court. The first year Lady Bear also grabbed two rebounds against UNI on Thursday night to bring her weekend total to 12 rebounds.