Women's Basketball

MVC Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook (Nov. 17)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its women's basketball weekly award winners on Monday. Bradley's Kaylen Nelson and Maya Foz were named the MVC Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively. Indiana State's Tierney Kelsey was tabbed the MVC Newcomer of the Week.

Conference News & Notes
  • Belmont head coach Bart Brooks secured his 200th career win at the helm of the program with a 72-66 win over Dayton on Sunday. 
  • Jailyn Banks scored a career-high 21 points against the Flyers, including 16 of those in the fourth quarter as the Bruins earned the win.
  • In a pair of outings last week, Bradley forced a combined 30 turnovers while converting them into 44 points. 
  • Bradley held DePaul to just 27.8% shooting in the third quarter, while shooting an impressive 72.7% from the field and 75% from behind the arc that same quarter.
  • Despite a setback to then-No. 21 Iowa, Drake’s Peyton McCabe scored a career-high 10 points while Grace Knutson tallied a career-high four 3-pointers, finishing with a team-leading 19 points.
  • After opening the season with four-straight road contests, Evansville will host IU Indy on Thursday in its home opener. 
  • UIC’s Jessica Carrothers is one of two players in The Valley averaging over 20.0 points per game, leading the way at 22.3 per contest. 
  • UIC head coach Ashleen Bracey will square off against her former head coach, Robin Pingeton, when Wisconsin travels to Chicago on Wednesday. Bracey played for Pingeton at Illinois State from 2006-10, while also serving on her coaching staff at Mizzou for six seasons before taking over the Flames’ program.
  • Illinois State remained undefeated (6-0) in the series with Chicago State, after powering past the Cougars, 101-52. The Redbirds have scored 100-plus points against Chicago State in two of the last three outings.
  • Indiana State’s 65-60 comeback win over Western Kentucky marked the program’s first victory against the Toppers since 1977. 
  • Murray State set a single-game program record with 44-made free throws in a win over Saint Louis, breaking the previous record of 38 set in 1991. 
  • Halli Poock made 15 of the Racers’ 44 free throws, which is tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history. She also scored 20 of her 28 points in the fourth quarter.
  • UNI set the McLeod Center women’s basketball and women’s sporting event attendance record in the matchup with No. 21 Iowa on Sunday with 7,146 fans in attendance. The number is the fifth-largest crowd in McLeod Center history across all sports.
  • Southern Illinois newcomer Alayna Kraus notched her second-straight double-digit performance, scoring a career-high 20 points in a loss to Purdue Fort Wayne. 
  • In a loss to nationally-ranked Iowa State, Valparaiso’s Milana Nenadic more than doubled her previous collegiate scoring output with her 20-point night, which included her first-career 3-pointer. She also matched a career high with six rebounds.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: KAYLEN NELSON, BRADLEY
5th Year | Guard | Tulsa, Okla. | Old Dominion
24.5 PPG | 49% FG | 53% 3PT FG | 4.50 RPG
Bradley’s Kaylen Nelson delivered a dominant week, totaling 49 points across two games while shooting an efficient 49% from the floor and 53% from three (8-15). Nelson powered the Braves to a win over DePaul with 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting, including four threes. She followed that with 21 points and six rebounds against IU Indy, knocking down another four triples. Nelson reached both her 400th point as a Brave and 500th career point during the week.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: TIERNEY KELSEY, INDIANA STATE
Sophomore | Guard | Memphis, Tenn. | Jackson State
17.0 PPG | 51% FG | 11 AST | 4 STL
Indiana State’s Tierney Kelsey put together an exceptional three-game stretch, averaging 17.0 points per game while shooting 51% from the field. Kelsey posted a career-high 22 points in the win over Eastern Illinois, added 11 points and a career-best seven assists at Western Kentucky, and capped the week with 18 points at Austin Peay. She also tied her career high with five rebounds and reached double figures in every contest. As one of the MVC’s top bench scorers this week, Kelsey provided consistent production, efficiency, and playmaking in all three outings.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: MAYA FOZ, BRADLEY
Freshman | Guard | Ontario, Canada | Fort Erie International Academy
16.0 PPG | 4.50 RPG | 50% FG
Bradley’s Maya Foz averaged 16.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in a pair of outings for the Braves while shooting an efficient 50% from the field. She opened with 14 points and three boards in a win over DePaul, and then followed with a breakout prformance against IU Indy, posting 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and grabbing six rebounds.