Women's Basketball

MVC Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook (Jan. 19)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its women's basketball weekly award winners on Monday. Northern Iowa's Ryley Goebel has been named the MVC Player of the Week while Valparaiso's Milana Nenadic has been tabbed the MVC Newcomer of the Week. The league's Freshman of the Week is Drake's Anna Becker. 

Conference News & Notes
  • With a 21-point win over Belmont on Sunday afternoon, Murray State moved into sole possession of first place in The Valley standings. 
  • The Racers, who are 16-2 overall and 7-0 in league play, have won 14-straight games, which is tied for the fourth-longest active streak in Division I with North Dakota State. Only UConn (W34), Vanderbilt (W18) and UC Irvine (W15) have won more consecutive games.
  • Four teams are inside the Top 130 of Monday’s issue of the NET with Murray State (90) and Belmont (96) inside the Top 100.
  • Sunday’s action saw two more Valley players record 30-point outings, as Evansville’s Camryn Runner notched 30 in a setback to Indiana State and UNI’s Ryley Goebel poured in 32 in a win over Bradley. There have been seven total 30-point performances in the league this season.
  • Murray State’s Sharnecce Currie-Jelks leads the nation in double-doubles with 15 on the year. The league newcomer is the only player in the MVC averaging a double-double, sitting at 19.3 points and 12.4 rebounds per outing.
  • Behind Indya Green’s 20-point, 15-rebound performance, Southern Illinois earned its fifth win of the season on Sunday and first against UIC at home since the Flames joined the league and first in Carbondale since the 1999-2000 campaign.
  • Indiana State’s 36 points in the paint in Sunday’s win against the Purple Aces were the most in a Conference game this season and the Trees’ most against a Division I opponent this year. Additionally, five Sycamores finished in double figures for the second-straight game in the win.
  • Drake’s Anna Becker used her second-straight 20-point outing to help the Bulldogs overcome the Beacons on the road. Becker’s 20 points marked the fourth 20-point performance by the freshman, while Maggie Taylor added a double-double (11 pts, 10 rebs) off the bench.
  • UNI’s Ryley Goebel turned in a carere game against the Braves on Sunday, finishing with 14-made field goals, 32 total points and tied a career-best with five stuffs. Goebel reached 200 blocks for her career, becoming just the seventh player in The Valley to do so.
  • Illinois State’s Trista Fayta became the first Redbird since the 1990-91 season to record a triple double with a 14-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist outing against Valparaiso. 
  • Valparaiso’s Milana Nenadic set a program record for field goals made in a single game by going 16-for-25 from the floor in a 34-point outpouring off the bench against Illinois State. Nenadic broke the previous mark of 15-made field goals that was set in 1983 and repeated in 1986. Her 34 points is tied for the most scored in a game by a Valley player this season.
  • Bradley’s win over Drake on Friday night marked the 19th in the series history for the Braves and the first against the Bulldogs since the 2020-21 season, ending a nine-game skid.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: RYLEY GOEBEL, NORTHERN IOWA
Senior| Forward | Urbandale, Iowa | Center Point-Urbana HS
32 PTS | 78% FG | 12 REB | 3 STL | 5 BLK
Ryley Goebel had one of the most dominant games in Panther history on Sunday in UNI’s lone matchup of the week. The senior forward finished with 32 points on 14-for-18 from the floor and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. She added 12 boards, five blocks, and three steals to her totals. Goebel recorded her seventh double-double of the season and the eighth of her career. The senior guard set career highs with her 32 points, 14-made field goals, and two three-pointers and tied a career high with five blocks. Goebel’s five blocks give her 200 in her career, making her just the seventh to do so in Valley history. Her two three-pointers were her first triples since her freshman season. 

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: MILANA NENADIC, VALPARAISO
Redshirt-Junior | Forward | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada | Idaho State/Maine
26.0 PPG | 55% FG | 45% 3FG | 5.5 RPG
Milana Nenadic boasted the MVC’s highest scoring average for the week by a player who played in two games, including a career game Thursday night at Illinois State. The redshirt junior finished with 34 points on 16-of-25 shooting against the Redbirds Thursday, breaking a four-decade-old program record for field goals in a game. Nenadic became just the fourth MVC player in the last nine seasons with 16 or more FG in a game, joining Katie Dinnebier, Destinee Wells and Katelyn Young. Her 34 points tied an MVC season high and are tied for the fifth-most in a single game in Valpo history - she became just the second Valpo player to score at least 34 points in a game since 1992. Nenadic followed that effort with a team-best 18 points Sunday versus Drake, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range - after entering the week with just two 3-pointers this season, she hit five over last week’s two games. She also paced the Beacons on the boards both games.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: ANNA BECKER, DRAKE
Freshman | Guard | Topeka, Kan. | Seaman HS 
21.0 PPG | 64% FG | 7.0 RPG
Bulldog freshman Anna Becker had a productive week as Drake split a pair of games in MVC play. Becker averaged 21.0 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 64.3 percent from the field. The native Kansan began the week by matching her career high with 22 points on 11-of-18 shooting in a defeat to Bradley. Becker added eight boards, a block, an assist, and a steal against the Braves. She then led Drake to a 66-56 win at Valpo with her second straight 20-plus point effort. Becker gave the Beacons 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six rebounds, two assists, and a steal.