UNI's Maya McDermott averaged 15.5 points and 4.5 assists per game during a pair of road wins, including hitting the game-winner at Drake to give the Panthers their first win in Des Moines since 2016. The award is the first MVC Player of the Week honor of her career.
UIC transfer Josie Filer averaged 21.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as the Flames beat Valpo and Southern Illinois at home, earning her second Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Maya McDermott, So., G, UNI
Sophomore guard Maya McDermott was the end of game hero for the Panthers in their first win over Drake at the Knapp Center since 2016. A Des Moines area native, McDermott hit a one-handed floater with 0.3 seconds left on the clock to snap UNI’s five game losing skid to the Bulldogs, leading the team with 19 points and six assists in the 70-69 win. The win handed Drake its first home Valley loss of the season. McDermott led UNI in points and assists over two MVC road wins this week, averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 assists per game, while adding a steal and shooting 52.4% from the field. Along with the game winner at Drake, McDermott exploded in the second half at Evansville with 12 points as the Panthers pulled out a 73-68 win.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Josie Filer, Gr., F, UIC
Graduate forward Josie Filer has been pivotal in the recent success of UIC women’s basketball, who finished a two-week homestand over the weekend. Against Valparaiso, Filer landed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give UIC a 51-50 victory on Wednesday. Then, she followed up with a 22-point performance in the Flames comeback victory over Southern Illinois, 65-62. Eighteen of those points came in the second half alone in the win over the Salukis. Filer averaged 21.5 points and eight rebounds a game over the week as the Flames finished their homestand 3-1.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Grace Berg (DU) - Recent Drake graduate Grace Berg put together an excellent week of solid for the Bulldogs. The Indianola, Iowa native was instrumental in the Bulldogs’ comfortable road win at Indiana State (1/14) and etched her name in the Drake women’s basketball record books in a loss to UNI (1/11). Berg netted 13 points against the Sycamores, her eighth-straight double figure scoring game and 12th of the season, while leading the game with seven rebounds and dishing out five assists. Earlier in the week, Berg scored another dozen points in a 70-69 loss to UNI. Her first basket against the Panthers was an historic one as it put her above the 1,000-point mark in her Drake career. Berg became the 35th Bulldog to achieve that feat and now has 1,024 career points.
Myia Clark (UE) - In what has been her best all-around collegiate season, fifth-year guard Myia Clark showed her ability again in a split of MVC contests this week. On Wednesday night, Clark powered the Aces with 17 points and tied a career-high with six assists, leading Evansville to a 65-54 win over Indiana State. Facing UNI on Sunday, Clark again reached double-digits, recording 13 points in the Aces narrow loss to the Panthers.
Mary Crompton (ILS) - Crompton averaged 17.0 points, 4.5 three-pointers, and 1.5 assists over a 2-0 road weekend for Illinois State, fueled heavily by a 26-point performance on Sunday at Belmont. The Iowa City native shot 45.8-percent from the field (11-24) on the week, 9-20 from 3-point range, and 3-3 from the free throw line. raves last Thursday before responding in a massive manner for Kristen Gillespie’s squad Sunday. On the road in Peoria last Thursday, Crompton finished with 8 points off 3-8 shooting as well as added three rebounds and two assists to her stat line. As ISU traveled to Nashville Sunday in a meeting of the MVC preseason top two, Crompton would go off for 26 points, 7-13 from three-point range, a rebound, an assist, and a perfect 3-3 from the free-throw line in 39 minutes against the Bruins of Belmont. As part of her heroic efforts in the 16-point win, Crompton tied a career-high in single game three-pointers (7) which was set in the season opener at Dayton, as well as moved herself into 13th all-time in the MVC for career three-pointers with her 260. Crompton would surpass both Missouri State’s Melody Howard and Drake’s Becca Hittner who saw 258 career triples.
Sydney Wilson (MOST) - Fifth-year senior Sydney Wilson averaged 16 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as MSU split games with Southern Illinois and Valparaiso. Wilson also owned a .684 (13-for-19) field goal percentage and shot 75 percent from three-point range (3-for-4) and the free throw line (3-for-4) on the week. In Wednesday’s win over Southern Illinois, Wilson scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while adding a steal and an assist. On Saturday at Valparaiso, Wilson logged a career-high 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field and a going a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Her nine made field goals also marked a career best, as she also dished out three assists and pulled down three rebounds.
Katelyn Young (MUR) - Katelyn Young was a model of consistency last week averaging 22.0 points and 6.5 rebounds over a 2-0 week. The junior put up 20 points against Belmont, followed by 24 against Bradley. She has now scored 20-plus points in eight of 15 games this season, including each of the last three contests. She ended the week shooting 63.0-percent (17-27) from the floor, 66.7-percent (4-6) from 3-point range and a perfect 100.0-percent (6-6) at the free throw line. In addition, she added three steals, two assists and one block on the week with only two turnovers and two fouls.
Ilysse Pitts (VU) - Pitts exploded with a career-best game to lead Valpo to the first win in program history over Missouri State, knocking off a Lady Bears squad which entered Saturday tied atop the MVC standings. Pitts, whose previous career high was 11 points, more than doubled that with 24 points against MSU - 18 of which came in the second half. Pitts knocked down a 3-pointer with 7:19 to play which gave Valpo the lead for good, and then went 6-of-8 from the foul line in the final minute to secure the win. She also secured a season-high seven rebounds to tie for game-high honors and tied her second best with three rebounds against the Lady Bears. Pitts averaged 14.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.0 APG and 2.0 SPG for the week, going 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the field, 3-4 (75%) from the 3-point line and 8-of-10 (80%) from the foul line.
Kynidi Mason Striverson (UE) - Continuing to be a key player for the Aces off the bench, freshman guard Kynidi Mason Striverson scored in double-figures in both contests this week. The freshman averaged 12 points and three boards nearly helping the Aces to a sweep of the week’s MVC matchups. Against Indiana State, Mason Striverson finished with 13 points in 24 minutes on the floor, hitting all three of her attempts from beyond the arc in an efficient 5-for-6 performance from the field. On Sunday, Mason Striverson was tasked with playing increased minutes at the point and responded well, scoring 11 points and nearly leading Evansville to a win over UNI.
Chelsea Cain (INS) - Cain averaged 16.5 points, five rebounds and two steals per game in a pair of contests last week, surpassing 1,000 points for her collegiate career in the process. She opened her week with a game-high 18 points against Evansville, also grabbing five boards against the Purple Aces. Cain scored the 1,000th point of her collegiate career on a layup in the first quarter. She followed that with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals in the Sycamores’ last game against Drake for her fourth double-figure scoring game in six MVC contests.
Aniya Thomas (MOST) - First-year Lady Bear Aniya Thomas averaged 18 points, 7 assists and 5.5 rebounds on the week as MSU split games with Southern Illinois and Valparaiso. Thomas also owned a .440 field goal percentage, .429 three-point percentage and .786 free throw percentage. In Wednesday’s victory over SIU, Thomas scored a game-high 25 points, logging her second 25-point performance of the season, on 50 percent shooting from the field. The floor general also dished out a career-high 10 assists, to just two turnovers, and became the first Lady Bear since Casey Garrison on Jan. 29, 2012 to record at least 20 points and 10 assists. Thomas also went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe against the Salukis while tallying two steals and grabbing four rebounds. On Saturday at Valparaiso, Thomas recorded her seventh consecutive double-figure scoring performance with an 11-point outing. She also grabbed seven rebounds as she dished out four assists to just one turnover and knocked down two triples. Thomas is tied for first in the MVC in steals (2.5/game) and is second in the league in assists (4.9/game).
Taryn Wharton (UNI) - Wharton set a career high in points in UNI’s final second win against Drake. Wharton hit double-digits for the first time in her career, recording 10 against the Bulldogs. For the week, Wharton averaged 7.5 points and 1.5 steals.
Olivia Sims (VU) - Sims matched her career high to lead the Beacons at UIC in midweek action, scoring 12 points in 20 minutes off the bench in efficient fashion. Sims went 4-of-6 from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line for her 12 points. A steal and two made free throws set Valpo up with a 3-point lead inside the final 20 seconds.