Women's Basketball

MVC Women's Basketball Weekly Notebook (Feb.16)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its women's basketball weekly honors on Monday. Northern Iowa's Ryley Goebel has earned MVC Player of the Week status while Southern Illinois' Alayna Kraus has been tabbed the Newcomer of the Week. Drake's Anna Becker has been named the league's Freshman of the Week.

Conference News & Notes
  • Murray State leads the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 13-1 ledger in league play and 22-3 mark overall. The Racers’ 22 wins are the fourth-most in a single season in program history.
  • Belmont is second in The Valley standings with a 12-2 record, suffering its only two losses to the Racers. Bradley is in third place with an 11-4 ledger while Illinois State moved into fourth with a 9-5 mark.
  • Drake broke a five-game skid on Saturday, as Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman earned her 100th career victory at the helm of the Bulldogs. Pohlman is the fifth coach in Drake history to record 100 career victories, joining Carole Baumgarten (1974-86, 257 wins), Lisa Bluder (1991-2000, 188), Amy Stephens (2003-12, 151) and Jennie Baranczyk (2012-21, 192)
  • Murray State earned its sixth-straight win, and 22nd of the season, with a 79-77 victory over UIC. The Racers’ Halli Poock scored a game-high 32 points, marking her fourth 30-plus point outing of the season. 
  • Belmont won its fourth-straight game with a 40-point win over Valparaiso at home, marking the largest margin of victory by the Bruins this season.
  • Bradley outlasted Southern Illinois on Sunday, 56-53, to move to 11-4 in MVC play. The Braves’ 11 Conference wins are the most for Bradley since the 2019-20 campaign when they tallied a program-best of 13. 
  • Illinois State bounced back in the win column Sunday, earning the program’s 18th-straight win over Evansville with an 88-75 victory on the road. Grace Nelson led the Redbirds with a career-high 23 points while tying a career-best five 3-pointers.
  • UNI’s Ryley Goebel turned in a career performance in the Panthers’ win over Indiana State on Thursday. The senior tied a career-high 32 points, while grabbing a career-best 16 rebounds. She added five blocks and three steals, moving into fourth all-time in league history in blocked shots.
  • The Racers are averaging a league-best 84.9 points per game this season, ranking ninth nationally in the category. In MVC play, Murray State is averaging 87.0 points, which is just over 11 points more than the next-highest scoring team. 
  • Nine of The Valley’s top 10 leading scorers this season are averaging 16.0 points per game or more. The MVC is tied with the Big 12 with five players averaging at least 17.5 points per outing. Only the Big Ten (8) and SEC (8) have more.
20212
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: RYLEY GOEBEL, NORTHERN IOWA
Senior | Forward | Urbana, Iowa | Center Point-Urbana HS
32 PTS | 75% FG | 16 REB | 5 BLK | 3 STL
In UNI’s lone matchup of the week, a 12-point win over Indiana State, Ryley Goebel led the Panthers with 32 points and 16 rebounds, her ninth double-double of the season. Goebel also finished with five blocks and three steals against the Sycamores. She became the only player in UNI and MVC history with 200+ career blocks and steals. Goebel set career highs with 16 rebounds and eight free throws and tied a career high with 32 points against Indiana State. With five blocks against Indiana State, Ryley Goebel moved past Sharon Zeilmann (Missouri State, 1983-87) for No. 4 on the MVC
all-time blocks list.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: ALAYNA KRAUS, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Sophomore | Guard | Okwaville, Illinois | Oral Roberts
24.0 PPG | 50% FG | 50% 3FG | 2.0 APG
Alayna Kraus delivered a breakout week for Southern Illinois, highlighted by a career-best 30-point performance in the Salukis’ win over Illinois State. The sophomore guard shot efficiently throughout the week, finishing 18-for-36 from the field and 5-for-10 from three-point range while averaging 24.0 points per game. Kraus followed her career night by leading all scorers again with 18 points against Bradley. The Salukis’ 24-point victory over the Redbirds marked the first win against Illinois State since 2022, ending an eight-game skid.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: ANNA BECKER, DRAKE
Freshman | Guard | Topeka, Kansas | Seaman HS
14 PTS | 67% FG | 7 REB
Anna Becker turned in another strong outing for Drake in the Bulldogs’ Pink Game victory over Indiana State. The freshman guard scored 14 points on an efficient 6-for-9 shooting performance while adding seven rebounds in the 88-70 win. Becker is second on the team in scoring, averaging just over 11 points per outing this season.