UNI's Grace Boffeli averaged 21.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 68.2% from the field as the Panthers opened MVC play with wins at Bradley and Illinois State. The award is the second MVC Player of the Week honor of her career.
Missouri State transfer Aniya Thomas averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game as the Lady Bears opened Valley play with wins at Evansville and Indiana State, earning her first Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Grace Boffeli, So., F, UNI
Over the first week of conference play, Boffeli was just shy of averaging a double-double, with 21 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 68.2% from the field. Boffeli led the Panthers in scoring against both Bradley and Illinois State, despite getting into foul trouble early at Renaissance Coliseum. Boffeli only had two points in the first half against the Braves but roared out to 15 points in the final two quarters to help put the game away in the third quarter. At CEFCU Arena against the Redbirds, Boffeli helped lead a comeback for the Panthers with two critical and-one situations in the third and fourth quarters, finishing the game with 25 points and 12 rebounds. With her offensive output this past week, Boffeli is now fourth in the MVC in scoring, averaging 16.8 points a game.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Aniya Thomas, Sr., G, Missouri State
Transfer Aniya Thomas had a stellar opening weekend in Missouri Valley Conference play for the Lady Bears. Thomas averaged 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, while shooting 55 percent (17-31) from the field, dishing out 10 assists and tallying seven steals in Missouri State’s two wins to open Valley action. In Missouri State’s second game of the weekend at Evansville, Thomas added her name to the MSU record book as she scored 27 points (one shy of her career high), grabbed 10 rebounds, went 13-for-20 (.650) from the field, dished out five assists and pocketed six steals. Thomas’ stat line of a double-double with at least five assists and five steals was just the fourth of its kind in program history at MSU. Her six steals were a career high and her 10 rebounds tied a career-high mark, while she also turned in the Lady Bears’ highest-scoring performance of the season. In MSU’s first win against Indiana State, Thomas was second on the team with 12 points and was the game’s leader with five assists.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Destinee Wells (BEL) - Junior guard Destinee Wells averaged 22 points, 3.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals last week in helping lead Belmont to back-to-back home victories to begin Missouri Valley Conference play. Shooting 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field while going 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) from beyond the arc and 8-for-11 (.727) at the free-throw line, Wells had two outstanding performances. In the Bruins’ first-ever MVC game Friday evening versus Valparaiso, Wells scored 19 points, distributed a game-high six assists, grabbed four rebounds, and came up with a pair of steals. Accounting for half of Belmont’s 16 points in the third quarter, Wells went 7-for-9 at the foul line as the Bruins defeated the visiting Beacons 74-60. She followed up that outing with a 25-point showing in Belmont’s dominant 72-59 win over UIC on New Year’s Day. Going 6-for-10 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from deep, Wells controlled the first half with 18 points, 10 of which came in the opening quarter alone. Recording her sixth 20-point game of the season and 26th of her career, Wells notched her 10th 25-point performance.
Maggie Bair (DU) - Maggie Bair rang in the New Year with an excellent MVC-opening weekend. The Bulldog veteran was a bright spot in Drake’s conference debut with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in a loss at defending Hoops in the Heartland champion Illinois State (12/30). Her performance against the Redbirds marked her third double-double of the season and 11th of her career. Bair improved in the Bulldogs’ second game of the weekend with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting plus seven rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal at Bradley (1/1). Bair now leads The Valley and ranks eighth nationally with a field goal percentage of .654.
Myia Clark (UE) - Opening MVC play, fifth-year guard Myia Clark put up a pair of impressive stat lines. On the weekend, Clark averaged 21.5 points per contest, leading the Aces in scoring in both games. Clark tied a season-high with her 25-point effort against the Salukis on Thursday before dropping 18 points against Missouri State on Saturday.
Jaida McCloud (UIC) - Though the Flames began MVC play 0-2, McCloud has begun to hit her stride this week as she led her team in scoring against Belmont and Murray State. Battling the Bruins, McCloud scored 23 points (a season high), grabbed nine rebounds, and went 15-for-18 from the free throw line, a career high.
Paige Robinson (ILS) - Robinson would average 17.0 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, and two assists over the first two MVC contests of the season versus Drake and UNI. The Bethany native led all scorers on Friday, finishing with 24 points (8-19 FG) while adding six rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal to her stat line in her first MVC action since joining ILS. She would follow that performance up with a 10-point, five rebound, and two assist effort against the Panthers in a 74-64 loss. As Robinson notched double figures against both the Bulldogs and Panthers, Robinson has now scored in double figures in 11 straight games, only failing to reach double figures to start the 2022-23 season at Dayton (9 points). Thanks to her efforts this weekend, Robinson maintains her spot as the MVC’s leading scorer, averaging 19.4 points per game while also leading the MVC in minutes played per game, averaging 35.3 minutes per game in 2022-23.
Katelyn Young (MUR) - Katelyn Young nearly averaged a double-double on the week with 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds over a pair of MVC wins. The junior had 21 points and six boards against UIC and a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds against Valpo. She shot 54.2-percent (13-24) from the floor, 33.3-percent (2-6) from 3-point range and 90-percent (9-10) from the free throw line. Young also had eight assists, five of which were against UIC, and two steals against Valpo.
Taryn Wharton (UNI) - Wharton continues to shine as the Panthers bench point guard, having strong performances against both Bradley and Illinois State. Over the two games this week, Wharton averaged 5.5 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.5 steals in only 24 minutes of play. Against Bradley, Wharton set career highs in points, three-pointers made, and three-point attempts.
Ashley Jones (SIU) - Southern Illinois graduate guard Ashley Jones averaged 16.5 ppg while shooting 11-of-22 from the field as SIU went 2-0 to start Missouri Valley Conference play for the third-straight season. Jones scored 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including going 6-of-7 from the free-throw line as the Salukis came back from 11 down in the third quarter to beat Evansville Thursday to give SIU 10-straight MVC opener victories, the longest streak in the conference.
Shemera Williams (SIU) - Southern Illinois junior guard Shemera Williams averaged 15 ppg in her first two games as a Saluki, going 8-of-14 in two games and 12-of-18 from the charity stripe as Southern started 2-0 in the MVC for the third-straight season. Williams had a game-high 18 points in Southern’s 60-58 win over Indiana State on Saturday as they were down 16 with 2:13 left in the third before mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter. Williams hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to give the Salukis the lead for the final time.
Olivia Brown (VU) - Brown paced Valpo in scoring in each of its first two Valley games, averaging 16.5 points/game on 64.7% shooting for the weekend and hitting 9-of-13 from 3-point range. She opened the weekend by matching her career best with six made triples on her way to a team-high 18 points at Belmont on Friday and followed by going 3-of-5 from deep as part of a 15-point effort on Sunday at Murray State. On the season, Brown is connecting at a 46.9% clip from distance.