BG's Santoro, CMU's Frost Selected as Players of the Week
MAC Women's Basketball East Division Player of the Week
Carly Santoro, Bowling Green, Guard
Junior – Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue
Bowling Green junior guard Carly Santoro exploded for 30 points and 10 rebounds in the Falcons' 77-60 win over Eastern Kentucky on Friday evening. The 30-point game was the second of Santoro's career. BGSU trailed, 15-10, after the first quarter, but Santoro scored 17 points in the second quarter alone to spark a 33-point BG uprising that gave the Falcons the lead for good. She had 13 of those 17 points in a span of under four minutes early in that second period. Santoro scored 17 of BG's first 26 points in the period, including 11-straight BG points during one two-plus minute stretch. It marked Santoro's sixth career double-double, and her fifth game of 20 or more points at BG, and she surpassed the 500-point mark for her career in the win over the Colonels.
MAC Women's Basketball West Division Player of the Week
Reyna Frost, Central Michigan, Forward
Junior – Reese, Mich./Reese
Junior Reyna Frost led the Chippewas offensively and defensively despite Central Michigan's 79-69 loss to Purdue on Friday, Nov. 10. Frost posted a double-double with 23 points and 16 rebounds in 40 minutes against the Boilermakers. The Reese, Mich. native went 10-of-20 (.500) from the floor and made two triples on four attempts along with two assists and two steals. Frost has recorded 15 career double-doubles and ranks third in program history in career rebounding average (10.3 rpg).
Other Nominees:
Amani Burke, Ohio, Guard
Sophomore – Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor Academy
Sophomore guard Amani Burke led Ohio in their opening day victory against High Point on Sunday, Nov. 12. Burke scored a team-high 18 points in Ohio's, 64-61 victory. Burke also grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists, had two steals and even registered a block, the only block for Ohio, in the victory. Burke shot 7-of-17 from the field and hit four off her six free throw attempts.
Carmen Grande, Ball State, Guard
Junior – Madrid, Spain
Junior guard Carmen Grande led the Cardinals in scoring with 20 points while dishing out nine assists in the Cardinals 76-64 season opening win at Cleveland State Saturday afternoon in the Wolstein Center. The nine assists has now giving Grande 412 assists for her career. She needs only five more to move up to sixth all-time in the assists category in program history. It was Grande's aggressive play that helped the Cardinals defeat Cleveland State. Grande hit some key baskets at imperative times throughout the contest.
Savannah Kluesner, Miami, Forward
Sophomore – St. Charles, Mo./Lutheran
Sophomore post player Savannah Kluesner wasted little time making her presence felt as she helped the RedHawks open the 2017-18 campaign with a 94-61 drubbing of Detroit Mercy on Friday. Kluesner poured in 20 points off the bench and added 10 rebounds to post her second career double-double. She also added a steal and a block. Her 20 points marked a new career high. Her previous career high came on Feb. 1, 2017 at Kent State when she scored 15.
Jordan Korinek, Kent State, Forward
Senior – Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary
Senior Jordan Korinek scored nine of her career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and Kent State closed on a 28-9 run to defeat Northern Kentucky, 59-54, in the season opener. Korinek accounted for nearly half of the Golden Flashes’ points on 8-for-15 shooting from the floor and 11-for-13 from the foul line. The Preseason All-MAC East selection made both of her three-point tries while adding four rebounds and two blocks. Korinek also anchored a defense that prevented the Norse from scoring a field goal on 16 consecutive possessions to turn a 10-point deficit midway through the third quarter into a five-point lead with less than five minutes to play.
Courtnie Lewis, Eastern Michigan, Guard
Freshman – Belton, Mo./Belton
Eastern Michigan University's women's basketball team won its eighth consecutive season opener in large part to the contributions of freshman Courtnie Lewis (Belton, Mo.-Belton). Lewis led the Eagles with a team-high 18 points in the Green and White's 83-61 win over Florida A&M, Nov. 10. It was the most points scored by an Eagle in their EMU debut since Sasha Dailey's 31-point performance to begin the 2014-15 season. The Belton, Mo. native added four rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes of action. Lewis was efficient, shooting 75 percent from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Lewis' performance led Eastern Michigan to its first win since Jan. 25, 2017 and its largest margin of victory since Feb. 20, 2016. Additionally, EMU's 83 points were its most under Fred Castro and the most the Eagles have scored since Feb. 20, 2016.
Kaayla McIntyre, Toledo, Center
Senior – Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy
Junior Kaayla McIntyre had a team-high 17 points, a career-best 12 caroms, two helpers and a squad-best three rejections in UT's 74-66 season-opening victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) in the first round of the Preseason WNIT on Friday at home. McIntyre shot an efficient 8-of-10 from the field and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe in 29 minutes as a starter to post her first-collegiate double-double. The Toledo native dominated the lane against the Red Flash and helped the Midnight Blue & Gold register a commanding 52-14 edge in points in the paint.
Breanna Mobley, Western Michigan Forward
Junior – Lansing, Mich./Lansing Waverly
Junior Breanna Mobley helped guide the Broncos to a 1-1 record in New Mexico this weekend, averaging a double-double in two games with 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds. The Lansing, Mich., native tallied 19 points and nine rebounds against New Mexico before posting her 20th double-double against 3x reigning Western Athletic Conference Tournament Champions New Mexico State.
Stephanie Reid, Buffalo, Point Guard
Senior – Melbourne, VIC, Australia/The Peninsula School
Senior point guard Stephanie Reid opened up the 2017-18 campaign in impressive fashion as she netted a double-double in the Bulls 87-73 victory over Delaware. Reid was the best player on the court on Friday as she was able to net 16 points while notching 11 assists, five rebounds and four steals across 38 minutes of work. The Australia native finished the game going 5-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe while only turning the ball over twice. Her 11-assist effort was a program record for assists in a season opener. The senior ranks second in UB history with 481 career assists.
Megan Sefcik, Akron, Guard
R-Junior – Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch
Redshirt junior Megan Sefcik led the Zips offensively in their 2017-18 season opener against Bucknell scoring a team-high 19 points, one point shy of her career-best (20 points). In addition to scoring the basketball, the Zips guard tied her career-mark in steals with three, pulled down two rebounds, and dished out an assist. In her 35 minutes of play, Sefick went 6-of-13 from the field with five of her field goals coming from long distance. She was also a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
Kelly Smith, Northern Illinois, Center
Senior - Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead
Kelly Smith, who started the game a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to lead NIU to a 93-64 victory in the 2017-18 season opener at Eastern Illinois, finished the game with a career-high 26 points to led all scorers. The Huskie senior seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
