Illinois State's Paige Robinson averaged 30.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as the Redbirds beat St. Thomas and Wisconsin during the week, earning the first MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week honor of her career.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK & NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Paige Robinson, Gr., G, Illinois State
Robinson was lights out in a pair of Redbird wins this week, averaging 30.0 points/game, 4.0 rebounds/game, 2.5 assists/game, and 4.0 threes/game against St. Thomas (W, 71-56) on Tuesday and Wisconsin (W, 62-57) on Sunday. Against the Tommies, Robinson finished with a game high 23 points in her Redbird home debut, while adding four assists, two blocks, and two rebounds. On Sunday against the Badgers, the Bethany, Ill. native seemed quite unstoppable as she went for a game-high 37 points (14-19 FG), including a perfect 7-7 from the three-point line. Robinson became the first player in NCAA Division I since 2018 (Delaney Hodgins of Eastern Washington) to score 37+ points and go a perfect 7-7 from behind the arc as she is only the third player to achieve this stat line since 2009-10 (when data was first collected).
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Isis Fitch (BRAD) - Scored a career-high 17 points on Saturday against McNeese State. Fitch added 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals in the Braves’ first win of the season.
Katie Dinnebier (DU) - Drake guard Katie Dinnebier continued her excellent start to the 2022 season in the Bulldogs’ 80-62 home upset over No. 22 Nebraska (11/19). Dinnebier showed out against a ranked foe for the second-straight game after dropping a career-high 24 points in a narrow loss to No. 4 Iowa last week. The Drake sophomore poured in 18 points to lead the Bulldogs in scoring on an efficient 5-of-8 from the field, including 1-2 from three-point territory and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. She also dished out a game-high six assists and collected one steal in 31 minutes of action. Dinnebier is tied for third in the MVC with an average of 16 points per game and ranks in the top five with 4.3 assists per game.
Abby Feit (UE) - Putting on one of her best performances of her career, senior Abby Feit helped lead the Aces to a split on the week. Doing something that just eight others have done in the last 13 years, Feit poured-in 27 points and recorded 17 rebounds in Evansville’s 82-57 win over Chicago State, doing so in just 30 minutes on the floor. Following her stat-stuffing performance against CAU, Feit added 13 points and five boards on the road at Illinois.
Jaida McCloud (UIC) - McCloud averaged 14.5 points and 9 rebounds in UIC’s two wins this week. She scored 18 against Chicago State on 6-of-8 shooting, and 10 against Milwaukee, and came up one rebound shy of a double-double in each game. Against the Cougars, she added two assists, two blocks, and two steals. She had a game-high four assists, a block and two steals against Milwaukee, helping the Flames defeat the Panthers for the first time in their last 16 meetings. McCloud has been an integral part of UIC’s 3-0 start, which is the program’s best record after three games since 2014-15.
Del’Janae Williams (INS) - Williams averaged 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.5 steals per game across two games last week for Indiana State. She opened her week with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists in a win over Central Michigan and followed that with a season-high 18 points and seven rebounds against Purdue. Four of Williams’ five baskets against Purdue were 3-pointers, marking the second time this season she hit four treys in a game, while she hit 41.7 percent of her attempts from distance during the week (5-12). Williams also had an assist-turnover ratio of 1.5 across the two games (six assists, four turnovers).
Indya Green (MOST) - Sophomore forward and JUCO transfer Indya Green has made an immediate impact in her first season as a Lady Bear. In games against Saint Louis and Oklahoma State, Green averaged 13 points and 14 rebounds per game while shooting .480 from the field. The Springfield, Missouri native helped lead MSU to its first win of the season against SLU as she scored 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. She also added two steals and a blocked shot against the Billikens. In Missouri State’s matchup against Power Five foe Oklahoma State, Green tallied 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, a game-high mark once again, to record her second double-double in as many games. She also dished out three assists against the then-undefeated Cowgirls. Her two double-doubles rank 15th nationally and are tied for first in the Missouri Valley Conference, while she is also ranked 27th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (4.3) and 33rd in rebounds per game (10.3).
Grace Boffeli (UNI) - Boffeli set a career high in points on Wednesday evening against No. 7 Iowa State in the Panthers’ razor thin loss. Boffeli had 26 points through 30 minutes against the Cyclones and led UNI in rebounds with 7. Along with excelling during the Iowa State game, Boffeli is top 20 in the nation in both double-doubles and free throw attempts. After 16 attempts from the line this week, Boffeli is 15th in the nation and first in the MVC with 33 free throw attempts. Boffeli also contributed nine points and five rebounds through 22 minutes against Creighton on Sunday.
Olivia Brown (VU) - Brown led Valpo in its lone game last week, racking up 20 points against Eastern Illinois - one off her top effort in her time at Valpo. Brown also matched her high at Valpo with six rebounds, five of which came at the offensive end, and led the Beacons with four assists.
Ruba Abo Hashesh (BRAD) - Tied her Bradley career-high of 9 points in the McNeese State win. Also dished out 6 assists, the most by a Braves player this season.
Danyel Middleton (UIC) - Middleton scored 11 points, one shy of her career high, against Chicago State and then matched that number against Milwaukee, helping the Flames go 2-0 this week. She set career highs with 4 assists and 2 steals, and also had 5 rebounds, against the Cougars. The game’s leading scorer against the Panthers, Middleton scored seven of her points in the fourth quarter of UIC’s one-point win. It was UIC’s first win over Milwaukee in 16 matchups dating to Feb. 20, 2015.
Promise Taylor (SIU) - Promise Taylor averaged 13.5 points and 7 rebounds last week in two games for the Salukis. In a loss to Northwestern, she scored 20 points and had 5 rebounds while going 7-of-11 from the floor and knocking down 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Allie Saunders (VU) - Saunders scored in double figures for the third straight game to start her collegiate career, pouring in 12 points against Eastern Illinois in the Beacons’ lone game last week. Saunders is the first Valpo player since 2014-15 to open her collegiate career with at least three straight games in double figures.