Belmont's Destinee Wells averaged 21.5 points, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game as the Bruins kept pace in the title race with home wins over UNI and Drake. The award is the third MVC Player of the Week honor of her career.
Missouri State sophomore Kennedy Taylor averaged 17.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 68.4% from the field as the Lady Bears beat Evansville and Indiana State, earning her fourth Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Destinee Wells, Jr., G, Belmont
Junior guard Destinee Wells continued her spectacular junior campaign with two standout performances this past week. Willing the Bruins to a pair of victories to close out the home portion of the regular season, Wells averaged 21.5 points, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 50 percent (3-of-6) from beyond the arc and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) at the free-throw line. In a matchup of league leaders Thursday night against UNI, Wells delivered 16 points, a game-high eight assists and three steals. She made winning plays in the final minute, tying up a Panther defensive rebound for a steal on a jump ball and hitting a floater to put Belmont up six with under 30 seconds to go. Wells followed up Thursday’s outing with a game-high 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting and a game-best seven assists in the Bruins’ thrilling win over visiting Drake Saturday. After scoring 11 of her 16 points in the second half in Thursday’s victory, Wells scored 18 of her 27 points in the second half against the Bulldogs. A perfect 7-for-7 at the foul line in the fourth quarter, Wells scored 11 points in the final stanza and knocked down five clutch free throws in the last minute.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Kennedy Taylor, So., F, Missouri State
Sophomore Kennedy Taylor helped lead the way for Missouri State last week as the Lady Bears earned two victories against Evansville and Indiana State. Taylor averaged a double-double with 17.0 points and a team-leading 12.0 rebounds per game, while shooting .684 (13-19) from the field and .727 (8-11) from the charity stripe in just under 52 total minutes on the floor. Of her 24 total rebounds, 15 came on the offensive glass, in addition to collecting two assists, two steals and a block on the week. In Thursday night’s win against Evansville, Taylor scored 11 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, nine of which were offensive boards. She also went 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 at the free throw line, and tallied two steals against the Purple Aces. On Saturday in MSU’s victory against Indiana State, Taylor went off for 23 points and 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes on the court. She was 9-for-11 from the field, 5-for-7 at the line, dished out two assists and committed no turnovers against the Sycamores. Taylor’s performance against ISU marked her 10th double-double of the season, her fourth 20-point outing on the year and her team-leading 13th game with double figure rebounds. Taylor ranks 14th nationally and leads The Valley with 4.0 offensive rebounds per game to help lead a squad that ranks sixth in the country in the category.
Noteworthy - In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:
Maggie Bair (DU) - Bulldog senior Maggie Bair led the Bulldogs on their final road swing of the 2022-23 season with an average of 21.5 points on 75% field goal shooting and six rebounds in Drake’s two-game split. Bair began the weekend with 28 points, a new career high, with five boards, two assists, and two blocks in Drake’s blowout win over Murray State (2/23). Her career night against the Racers included a career-high four made three-pointers. Bair continued her stellar senior season with another 15-point, seven rebound effort in Drake’s final road game of the year at Belmont (2/25).
Katie Dinnebier (DU) - Point guard Katie Dinnebier had a solid finish in Drake’s final road trip of the regular season, averaging 18 points, 6.5 assists, five rebounds, and four steals in the Bulldogs’ 1-1 weekend. The sophomore sparkplug started the road swing with 12 points, five rebounds, and a remarkable nine assists in Drake’s 97-71 win over Murray State (2/23). Dinnebier then put together an impressive outing in an 83-77 defeat at Belmont (2/25). She scored 24 points against the Bruins to match her career high while nearly single-handedly leading the Bulldogs’ back from a 17-point deficit.
Jaida McCloud (UIC) - McCloud has been vital to the recent success of the Flames due to her late offensive surge. Since the start of February, McCloud has scored in double figures in nine out of ten games, including tying her season-high this past week against Illinois State with 23 points in UIC’s defeat, 66-55. She scored nine points in the win over Bradley on Saturday, 64-38. McCloud is currently the second leading scorer for UIC, averaging 12.1 points per game.
DeAnna Wilson (ILS) - Wilson averaged 17.0 points per game for Illinois State as the Redbirds held a perfect 2-0 home weekend over UIC and Valparaiso … She made 12-of-25 shots for the week (48.0%), and was 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the free-throw line … She averaged six and a half rebounds on the week with four steals and two assists … Against the Flames, she would go for 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field while grabbing four rebounds and gathering two steals along with going 4-of-6 from the free-throw line over 24 minutes on the court … In the finale of the week against Valparaiso, Wilson was almost unstoppable as she finished with a game-high 20 points (including ILS’ first 10 points of the game) off 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from the charity stripe … Against the Beacons, Wilson also gathered two assists and two steals.
Grace Boffeli (UNI) - While the Panthers may have split the week, Grace Boffeli showed out setting a career-high in double-doubles with her 11th and 12th against Belmont and Murray State. Boffeli is now ranked 32nd in the nation in double-doubles and leads the MVC after helping the Panthers out-rebound one of the best rebounding teams in the MVC against Murray State. Along with excelling on the glass, Boffeli led UNI in most statistical categories in the penultimate week of conference play, including points, rebounds, and steals. For the week, Boffeli averaged 18.5 points, 11 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in two high scoring games for the Panthers. Boffeli was the leading scorer and rebounder in both contests, helping propel UNI to its fifth straight season with a .500 or better road record.
Promise Taylor (SIU) - Senior center Promise Taylor led the Salukis to wins over Indiana State and Evansville. Against the Purple Aces, she recorded a rare, triple-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. The 10 blocks were both a school and conference record. For the week, Taylor made 12-of-18 shots (.667) from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. She averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 blocks.
Kendal Cheesman (BEL) - Sophomore forward Kendal Cheesman was just what the Bruins needed from their bench this past week as she created instant offense in the early going in both Belmont home wins. Across the two games, Cheesman averaged 10 points as she shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the field and went 4-for-9 (.444) from long range. All but three of Cheesman’s 20 points for the week came in the first quarter. Cheesman scored seven in the win over Northern Iowa Thursday evening before pouring in 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting against Drake Saturday. She had 10 points on 2-for-3 three-point shooting in the opening quarter versus the Bulldogs and gave the Bruins a 15-point lead early in the second quarter with her third triple.
Kynidi Mason Striverson (UE) - Stepping up for a short-handed Aces squad, freshman guard Kynidi Mason Striverson continued to show her growth in just her first year. On the weekend, Mason Striverson averaged 10.5 points for the Aces, including a best of 13 points against SIU on Saturday.
Josie Filer (UIC) - A model of consistency for UIC, Filer once again had a productive week for the Flames. In their loss to Illinois State on Thursday, scoring nine points in the game. In their win over Bradley on Saturday, Filer scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her team-leading fifth double-double of the season. Filer is currently the leading scorer for the Flames, averaging 12.2 PPG.
Paige Robinson (ILS) - Robinson averaged 15.0 points per game for Illinois State as the Redbirds went 2-0 at home with a pair of wins over UIC and Valparaiso … She made 8-of-19 shots for the week (42.1%), and was 13-of-19 (68.4%) from the free-throw line … She averaged four and a half rebounds on the week with four assists, one block, and two steals … Against the Flames, the Bethany native went for a team-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, while grabbing three rebounds, dishing out two assists and chipping in one block. She would also go 9-of-13 from the free-throw line over her 37 minutes of action … In the finale of the week against Valparaiso, she would finish with nine points off 2-of-7 shooting from the field, 1-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe… Against the Beacons, she gathered six rebounds, one block, and one steal.
Bella Finnegan (INS) - Finnegan averaged 20.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.5 steals per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range across a pair of contests last week for Indiana State, leading the Sycamores in scoring in both games. She led all scorers with 21 points against Southern Illinois, knocking down eight of her 16 attempts from the field and three of her five 3-point attempts. Finnegan followed that with 19 points at Missouri State, hitting six of 14 attempts from the field. She also added three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal against Southern Illinois, while adding two rebounds and two assists against Missouri State
Ryley Goebel (UNI) - Following an injury to center Cynthia Wolf against Murray State, freshman Ryley Goebel stepped up to fill the void in the post. Over two games this week, Goebel played major minutes and set a new career high in blocks. In particular, Goebel was a force in the paint in UNI’s 76-48 win over Murray State. The freshman forward made nine points including four layups and had a career-high four blocks. Goebel is now in the Top 6 in the MVC in blocks and is one of only two freshmen in the Top 10 of the category. For the week, Goebel averaged 5.5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks.