Drake's Maggie Bair averaged 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 58.6% from the field as the Bulldogs beat Missouri State and Southern Illinois. The award is the second MVC Player of the Week honor of the season.
Illinois State graduate transfer Paige Robinson averaged 23.0 points per game, while shooting 60.9% from the field as the Redbirds locked up a share of the regular season title with wins at Evansville and Indiana State, earning her fourth Newcomer of the Week honor.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Maggie Bair, Jr., F, Drake
Maggie Bair did Maggie Bair things in Drake’s weekend sweep to close the regular season. The senior forward averaged 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting at a .586 clip from the field and .556 percentage from behind the three-point arc. Bair opened the Bulldogs’ final homestand with 22 points and 12 boards, her 10th double-double of the season, on 9-of-17 shooting in a crucial 83-63 win over Missouri State (3/2). She followed that performance with 25 points including three made triples, in a 91-68 victory over Southern Illinois on Senior Day (3/4). Bair has made multiple three-pointers in four-straight games, the longest such streak of her career. She leads Drake and ranks in the top of the MVC with 16.6 ppg and 8.3 rpg while topping the league stat sheet with a .616 field goal percentage.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK:
Paige Robinson, Gr., G, Illinois State
Robinson averaged 23.0 points per game for Illinois State as the Redbirds went 2-0 on the road to finish the regular season against Evansville and Indiana State … She made 14-of-23 shots for the week (60.9%), and was 14-of-19 (73.7%) from the free-throw line … She averaged four rebounds on the week with six assists, three blocks, and four steals … Against the Purple Aces, the Bethany native went for a game-high 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, while grabbing five rebounds, dishing out four assists and chipping in one steal. She would also go 9-of-14 from the free-throw line over her 33 minutes of action … In the finale of the week against Indiana State, she would finish with 20 points off 6-of-9 shooting from the field, a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, and 3-of-4 from three-point range … Against the Sycamores, Robinson gathered three rebounds, three blocks, three steals, and two 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, the reigning MVC and Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Week, topped her sensational play last week by averaging 23.5 points, 5.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 rebounds in leading Belmont to a pair of road victories to close out the regular season. Shooting 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the field, going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and hitting all eight of her free throws, Wells had one of her finest weeks of the season. In the Bruins’ dominant 81-56 win at UIC Thursday night, Wells went 7-for-8 from the floor en route to scoring 16 points and distributed a game-high six assists. On Saturday at Valparaiso, Wells nearly single-handedly willed Belmont to victory. She scored 26 of her game-best 31 points in the second half and 20 of the Bruins’ 24 points in the fourth quarter. Accounting for Belmont’s first 10 points of the deciding fourth quarter, Wells helped the Bruins overcome an eight-point third-quarter deficit. Wells’ layup with 1:24 to go put Belmont up for good at 66-64 before she knocked down a pair of clutch foul shots in the final 30 seconds. Going 8-for-13 in the fourth quarter and 5-for-5 at the free-throw line, Wells finished 11-for-19 from the field and 7-for-7 at the charity stripe. She also dished out a team-high five assists, came up with a trio of steals, grabbed three rebounds and made a block.
Anna Miller (DU) - Anna Miller has made a major impact on the Bulldogs’ success since being entered into the starting lineup. The sophomore forward showed out in Drake’s final homestand, scoring 19.5 points and grabbing 9.5 rebounds across two games. She started the weekend with 18 points and eight boards while shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in a dominant 83-63 win over Missouri State (3/2). The Rochester, Minn. native also dished out four assists, blocked four shots, and tied a career high with three steals vs. the Lady Bears. Miller one-upped herself with her third double-double of the year in Drake’s regular season finale, pouring in a career-high 21 points and corralling 11 rebounds.
Abby Feit (UE) - In the final weekend of the regular season, senior guard/forward Abby Feit continued another strong campaign. In a pair of conference games, Feit averaged 17 points and eight boards, including a 20-point, 13-board performance against Bradley on Saturday for her seventh double-double of the season.
Jaida McCloud (UIC) - Jaida McCloud finished conference play on a high note with a 22-point, 13 rebound performance in a 65-58 victory over Murray State to secure the No. 6 seed in Hoops in the Heartland next week. She finished the week averaging 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds and the Flames finished their best start in over nine years.
DeAnna Wilson (ILS) - Wilson averaged 24.5 points per game for Illinois State as the Redbirds finished the regular season with a 2-0 road trip over Evansville and Indiana State … She made 18-of-33 shots for the week (54.5%), and was 13-of-16 (81.3%) from the free-throw line … She averaged three and a half rebounds on the week with three blocks and a steal … Against the Purple Aces, she would go for 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field while grabbing one rebound and a block along with going 7-of-9 from the free-throw line over 35 minutes on the court … In the finale of the week against Indiana State, Wilson stepped up her game as she went for a career-high 26 point off 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe… The St. Louis native also grabbed eight rebounds, bringing her ISU total to 601 (15th in program history) along with two blocks and a steal.
Del’Janae Williams (INS) - Williams had a career weekend to close out the regular season, averaging 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals per game in a pair of contests for the Sycamores while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range. She scored a career-high 30 points against Bradley, going 11-of-18 from the field and 7-of-13 from 3-point range against the Braves. Williams also added eight rebounds and five assists against Bradley, becoming the first player in the MVC since 2014 with at least 30 points, 10 field goals, five 3-pointers, five rebounds and five assists while shooting at least 50 percent both overall and from 3-point range. She also had 16 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds against Illinois State, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers against the Redbirds.
Aniya Thomas (MOST) - Fifth-year senior Aniya Thomas led the way for the Lady Bears last week, averaging a team-high 17.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in losses at Drake and UNI. Thomas shot 44 percent (14-32) from the field and 83 percent (5-6) from the charity stripe, while dishing out six assists and collecting four steals and a block on the week. She also led MSU with nearly 73 total minutes on the floor. In Thursday night’s game at Drake, Thomas tied for the game high with 22 points, while pulling down four rebounds and leading the team with three assists. She also had a block, a steal and went 3-for-3 from the free throw line against the Bulldogs. The outing marked her seventh 20-point performance of the season. In Saturday’s game at UNI, Thomas tallied 12 points in addition to leading the team with seven rebounds and three steals. She shot 50 percent (5-10) from the field, went 2-for-3 at the line and dished out three assists in 38 minutes played. Thomas now owns 24 double figure scoring performances and has led the Lady Bears in steals 15 times this season. She also ranks second in the Valley in steals per game (2.1) and third in assists per game (4.2).
Emerson Green (UNI) - Green had the best all-around game of her career in the final week of the regular season against the Missouri State Lady Bears. Green couldn’t be stopped behind the arc, sinking five treys, and going over 66% from three-point range across two games. Green propelled the Panthers to their final win of the regular season over Missouri State, leading in every statistical category but blocked shots. In 34 minutes against the Lady Bears, Green made 24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assist, and 2 steals with no turnovers. The performance tied to career highs for Green in rebounds (9) and field goals made (8). For the week, Green averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Olivia Brown (VU) - Brown averaged 20.5 points/game on 65.2% (15-of-23) shooting from the floor in Valpo’s two games last week, including 7-of-13 from behind the arc. After being held scoreless in the first half against Murray State, she exploded for 22 second-half points to end up leading all scorers for the game. Brown followed with a team-best 19 points against Belmont, including five 3-pointers. The senior hit a triple with 3:34 to play which gave Valpo the lead against the Bruins, hit another 3-pointer with 1:46 to go which tied the game and another with 16 seconds remaining which brought Valpo within one point.
Josie Filer (UIC) - A model of consistency for the Flames this past week, Filer averaged 16.5 PPG and 5.5 RPG with the Flames going 1-1 to end out Missouri Valley Conference play. Filer scored 18 points on Thursday in a loss to Belmont, and 15 points in the win against Murray State Saturday. Filer finished the season as the Flames leading scorer (12.4 PPG) and rebounder (6.8 RPG).
Rachael Heittola (UNI) - Heittola continues to step up for the Panthers as their starting center, getting her first start in the position against Southern Illinois on Thursday. Along with starting her first game at UNI, Heittola had her second double-digit game of the season, scoring 10 points against Missouri State. The highlight of Heittola’s play over the final week of the regular season, was a step-back three in the final seconds of the third quarter while facing the Lady Bears, putting the Panthers up by 17 going into the fourth quarter. For the week, Heittola averaged 8.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Ali Saunders (VU) - Saunders averaged 16.5 points/game on 54.5% shooting, hit 6-of-10 from 3-point range and dished out 4 assists/game last week in Valpo’s pair of games. She started with a 20-point effort - her second 20-plus scoring output of the season - on 8-of-12 shooting against Murray State. Against Belmont on Saturday, Saunders scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and matched her season best with a game-high six assists. Saunders led all Valley freshmen within MVC play in both scoring and assists.