Women's Basketball

MVC Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook (Nov. 24)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its women's basketball weekly honors on Monday. Illinois State's Doneelah Washington and Kya Hurt were named the MVC Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively. UIC's Jessica Carrothers was tabbed the MVC Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season. 

Conference News & Notes
  • Nine of the league’s 11 women’s basketball programs are participating in multi-team events this week. 
  • UIC and Illinois State each earned victories over Loyola last week, while the Redbirds added a win over Saint Louis, as The Valley moved to an impressive 6-1 against teams in the A-10 this year.
  • The first women’s basketball NET of the season will be released next Monday, December 1. It will then be updated daily (assuming there were games the day before) until Selection Sunday.
  • The Valley finished as the seventh-best Conference in Division I last year with five teams finishing inside the Top 100 of the NET.
  • The Valley has two players averaging a double-double this year in Murray State’s Sharnecce Currie-Jelks (18.2 pts, 10.0 reb) and Illinois State’s Doneelah Washington (12.0 pts, 10.2 reb).
  • Belmont earned its 16th-straight Battle of the Boulevard with an 80-60 win over Lipscomb. The Bruins went on an incredible 22-0 run following a 2-2 tie to take a commanding 24-2 lead with two minutes to go in the first quarter.
  • Bradley’s Kaylen Nelson tied the program record with eight-made 3-pointers against Western Illinois.
  • Drake freshman Anna Becker matched her career high with 22 points to lead the Bulldogs in a setback to No. 12 Iowa State. She also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists.
  • Evansville’s Logan Luebbers Palmer recorded a career-high 23 points with six-made threes in the Aces’ 75-58 home-opening win over IU Indy. 
  • Sara Zabrecky notched four treys in the Flames’ win over Loyola, eclipsing 100 in her UIC career.
  • Illinois State’s Doneelah Washington became one of just three players in Division I this season with 15+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ steals and 4+ assists in a single game, joining UConn’s Sarah Strong and Texas’ Madison Booker.
  • Indiana State is fourth in Division I in bench points per game. The Sycamore reserves are averaging 41.0 of the team’s 77.5 points per contest. 
  • Murray State’s 54-32 halftime lead over UAB was its largest of the season, while the Racers outrebounded UAB, 48-39, which also marked a season-best.
  • UNI claimed its first win of the season with the 51-50 victory at Creighton. The victory was the Panthers’ first win over Creighton since a 64-63 victory in the 2021 WNIT. It also marked UNI’s first victory in Omaha over the Bluejays since a 58-57 win in 2011.
  • Southern Illinois’ Alayna Kraus is leading the Salukis in scoring this season, and ranks eighth in the MVC, at 15.3 points per game.
  • Valparaiso will play three games in four days when it travels to Cleveland, Ohio, for the CSU Invitational. It marks the first time since the 2003-04 season that Valpo has played three games in a four-day stretch.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DONEELAH WASHINGTON, ILLINOIS STATE
Sophomore | Forward | Lincoln, Neb. | Lincoln Northeast HS
13.0 PPG | 13.5 RPG | 43% FG
Doneelah Washington delivered a dominant two-game stretch, averaging a double-double with 13.0 points and 13.5 rebounds to lead Illinois State to a pair of wins. She opened the week with 11 points and a season-best 13 boards against Loyola Chicago, then followed it with a career-high 14 rebounds and 15 points in the victory over Saint Louis. Washington also stuffed the stat sheet with seven steals and seven assists on the week—becoming just one of three Division I players this season to record a 15+ point, 10+ rebound, 5+ steal, 4+ assist performance.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: JESSICA CARROTHERS, UIC
Senior| Guard | Highland, Ind. | Butler/IU Northwest
13.0 PPG | 4.00 RPG | 10 AST 
Jessica Carrothers continued her strong start to the season by averaging 13.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds across two games. She led the Flames with 14 points and four assists at Wisconsin, then added 12 points and a game-high six assists in a win over Loyola Chicago. The senior guard also went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line and remains among the MVC’s most efficient scorers, ranking second in the league in field-goal percentage and points per game.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: KYA HURT, ILLINOIS STATE
Freshman | Guard | Indianapolis, Ind. | Lawrence North HS
11.5 PPG | 3.00 RPG | 50% FG
Freshman guard Kya Hurt made a major impact off the bench, averaging 11.5 points while shooting 50 percent from the field in two Illinois State victories. She posted seven points and a career-high five rebounds in the win over Loyola Chicago before erupting for a career-best 16 points and three assists against Saint Louis.