Women's Basketball

MVC Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook (Jan. 26)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its women's basketball weekly honors on Monday. The MVC Player of the Week is Illinois State's Doneelah Washington and the league's Newcomer of the Week is UNI's Jenna Twedt. For the sixth time this season, Bradley's Maya Foz has been tabbed the MVC Freshman of the Week.

Conference News & Notes
  • Home teams are 32-17 during league play this season.
  • Five Valley teams are inside the Top 150 of the NET as of Monday morning. Belmont leads the way at 93 and Murray State joins the Bruins inside the Top 100 at 98.
  • Evansville battled to a 68-65 victory at UNI on Sunday. The win snapped a 21-game losing streak to the Panthers and it marked the Purple Aces’ first win in Cedar Falls since 2008.
  • Bradley earned a 73-63 victory over UIC at home on Sunday, keeping its perfect untouched record at Renaissance Coliseum. The Braves moved to 9-0 on their home court, joining Illinois State and Murray State as the only teams unbeaten at home this season. 
  • Illinois State bounced back in the win column with an 85-69 win over Indiana State to complete the season sweep of the Sycamores. The Redbirds set a program record with 37-made free throws. 
  • Murray State’s Halli Poock scored the game-winning layup on Sunday, giving the Racers an 89-88 victory over Drake. The season sweep of the Bulldogs marked the first over Drake since the Racers joined The Valley. 
  • Northern Iowa handed Murray State its first Conference loss of the season on Friday night, ending a 14-game win streak by the Racers. The Panthers shot an impressive 72.2% from 3-point range, UNI’s best mark from behind the arc in the Tanya Warren era.
  • Bradley’s 40-point win over Valparaiso on Friday marked the first win by the Braves against the Beacons during the regular season since the 2020-21 campaign, and the largest margin of win against a Valley foe since 2017-18.
  • Murray State’s Sharnecce Currie-Jelks was one of 15 named to the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid Major Player of the Year Watch List, presented by Her Hoop Stats, on Wednesday (Jan. 21). She is currently tied as the nation’s leader with 15 double-doubles on the year.
  • The Braves have jumped into the top 10 nationally in 3-point percentage defense, holding their opponents to just 24.4% from behind the arc.
  • As a team, the Redbirds are shooting a league-best 44.5% from the floor, while UNI is holding its opponents to just 38.2%. 
  • Eight players in The Valley are currently averaging over 15 points per game, led by Murray State’s Halli Poock, who is averaging 20.4 points and an impressive 25.6 per outing in league play.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DONEELAH WASHINGTON, ILLINOIS STATE
Sophomore| Forward | Lincoln, Neb. | Lincoln Northeast HS
23.5 PPG | 64% FG | 8.5 RPG | 5 STL
Doneelah Washington continues to do it all for the Redbirds, and put together another strong week where she nearly averaged a double double. Last week, Washington averaged 23.5 points per contest and averaged 8.5 rebounds per game while playing nearly 30 minutes per contest. On Thursday at UIC, she posted 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and she followed that up with a career day in a win at Indiana State on Sunday. Against the Sycamores, Washington scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Redbirds to their fourth win in the last five contests. Washington has now scored 20 or more points in five of her last seven. In MVC play, she is averaging 22.1 points and 9.0 boards.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: JENNA TWEDT, NORTHERN IOWA
Junior | Guard | Atkins, Iowa | Kirkwood CC
25.0 PPG | 44% FG | 53% 3FG
Jenna Twedt led the Valley in scoring last week with 50 total points, including a 20-point performance in UNI’s 15-point victory over then-MVC-undefeated Murray State. The junior led the Panthers in scoring in both contests and averaged 25 points per game, highlighted by a career-high 30-point performance against Evansville. The 30 points tied for the most scored by a Valley player in a single game last week.Twedt also knocked down six three-pointers against Evansville, both a Valley single-game high last week and a career high, while adding eight free throws, another Valley single-game best last week and career high for the
Atkins, Iowa, product. She posted the highest three-point percentage in the MVC last week (52.9%) among players with at least 10 attempts, shooting 9-for-17 across the Panthers’ two matchups. Twedt was one of just three athletes in the league to record multiple 20-plus point performances.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: MAYA FOZ, BRADLEY
Freshman | Guard | Ontario, Canada | Fort Erie International Academy 
19.5 PPG | 54% FG | 3.5 RPG | 6 AST | 5 STL
Maya Foz continued to lead Bradley as the Braves went 2-0 on the week. Foz averaged 19.5 points per game, shot 54% from the floor, including 50% from 3-point range, and added six assists and five steals. Against Valparaiso, Foz posted 18 points, adding a steal, three rebounds, four assists. The rookie made a career-best five shots from 3-point territory. In Bradley’s comeback win against UIC, Foz notched 21 points to go with four rebounds and four steals. Via Her Hoop Stats, Foz is ranked 10th in scoring among freshmen in Division I.