Mid-American Conference

 
East Division
Cierra Dillard, Buffalo, Shooting Guard
Junior – Rochester, NY/Gates Chili
Junior shooting guard Cierra Dillard had the best week of her UB career last week as she guided Buffalo to a pair of wins over Ohio and Toledo. The Rochester native finished off her impressive week averaging 25.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.0 steals while shooting 54.2% from the floor and draining a team-best six three pointers. In Wednesday's road win over Ohio, Dillard played a season-high 39 minutes and finished the game with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal as she sealed the game at the line, going 9-for-12 from the charity stripe. Dillard had a career game on Saturday as the Bulls downed the defending MAC champion Toledo Rockets by 18. The junior finished off her outstanding performance with a career-high 30 points, a career-high seven steals, five rebounds and four assists as the Bulls won their fourth straight and improved to a program record 6-1 in MAC play. Dillard was on fire on Saturday as she went 9-for-14 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the charity stripe across 34 minutes of work. So far in conference play, Dillard is averaging a team-best 19.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.9 steals while shooting 48.4% from the floor and 43.5% from behind the arc.
 
West Division Player
Danielle Minott, Eastern Michigan, Guard
R-Junior – Miami, Fla./Miami Country Day
Redshirt junior Danielle Minott (Miami, Fla.-Miami Country Day (Syracuse)) was exceptional for the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team, Jan. 17-20, leading the Eagles to a pair of victories. Minott averaged 22.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 1.0 assist, and 0.5 blocks per game over the two-game stretch, as EMU defeated Western Michigan, 69-67, in overtime, Jan. 17, before topping Northern Illinois, 83-76, on the road, Jan. 20. Minott's career night against WMU saw the Miami native go off for a career-best 29 points, while adding in seven rebounds and three steals. Then, in Saturday's win over NIU, Minott added 15 points and six rebounds to pace a balanced offensive effort. Minott's play has the Eagles on a three-game win steak, their first since winning five in-a-row, Feb. 6-24, 2016. Over the last three games, Minott is averaging 21.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals, and 1.7 assists, while shooting 51.1 percent (23.-of-45) from the floor and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from three-point range.

 
 
Other Nominees:
Lauren Dickerson, Miami, Guard
Sophomore – Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence North
Guard Lauren Dickerson helped Miami to a split in a pair of decisions this past week. On Wednesday at home against Akron, the sophomore posted 31 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals en route to a 75-67 Red & White win. In a loss at Western Michigan on Saturday, Dickerson went for 20 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. In total, she averaged 25.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 apg and 2.0 spg for the week. Dickerson now has 29 straight games in which she has scored in double figures, 14 of those being 20-plus point performances. Just over the midway point of her sophomore year, she already ranks fifth in program history for career 20-point games with 21.
 
Shaunay Edmonds, Akron, Guard
Sophomore – Pittsburgh, PA/Seton LaSalle
Shaunay Edmonds turned in an all-around week against Miami and Central Michigan scoring 17 points per game while dishing out 5.0 assists and ripping 3.0 steals per contest. In 34 minutes of action against the RedHawks, Edmonds was the Zips second leading scorer with 13 points to go along with her team-best six assists, and five steals. Against the top team in the MAC, Central Michigan, Edmonds went on to score a season-high 21 points, assisted on four baskets, pulled in three rebounds, and had one steal. On the weekend, Edmonds scored or assisted on 21 of the Zips 55 made field goals combined between the two contests.
 
Reyna Frost, Central Michigan, Forward
Junior – Reese, Mich./Reese
Junior Reyna Frost led Central Michigan to two more victories in Mid-American Conference play as the Chippewas defeated Northern Illinois (81-78) and Akron (95-86) last week. CMU continues to remain undefeated in the MAC and holds a 15-3 overall record. Frost averaged a double-double (18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds) and 3.0 steals between the two games. The Reese, Mich. native went 14-of-27 (51.9%) from the field and shot 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the free-throw line. At NIU, Frost scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to go along with three steals and two blocks in 40 minutes of the court. The junior then posted 18 points, including two triples, and eight rebounds in 34 minutes of play at Akron. Frost has recorded nine double-double this season, which ranks first on the team and second in the MAC. She ranks third on the team averaging 14.3 points per game and continues to dominate the boards averaging 12.7 a game, which ranks fifth in the NCAA.
 
Carmen Grande, Ball State, Guard
Junior – Madrid, Spain
For the second-straight week Carmen Grande has averaged a double-double in points and assists.  Grande started the week off dishing out 11 assists while scoring eight points and pulling down seven rebounds on the road at Toledo.  She then finished the week off strong after registering a her 13th double-double of her career and seventh of the season after a 15 point, 10 assists performance in the Cardinals 79-58 victory at Kent State Saturday.  Grande has ranked second nationally in assists all season averaging 9.7 assists per game.  She is also second in the nation in totals assists with 174.  She has helped the Cardinals to their best start in program history as Ball State has suffered only three losses this season.
 
Cierra Hooks, Ohio, Guard
Freshman – Dayton, Ohio/Thurgood Marshall
Freshman Cierra Hooks led the Bobcats offensively and defensively this past week, helping the Bobcats go 1-1 and improve to 10 wins for the fourth-straight year. Overall, Hooks averaged 16.0 points, going 10-of-24 (.416) from the field and 12-of-14 (.857) from the free throw line. She averaged a team-leading 6.0 rebounds a game, 5.0 steals a game and 1.5 assists per game in 28.0 total minutes on the floor. On Jan. 20 at Bowling Green, Hooks came up big for the Bobcats, scoring 20-piints, going5-of-11 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. She grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds, has two assists, three steals and a block in Ohio's 70-63 victory. On Jan. 17 against Buffalo, Hooks scored 12 points, going 5-of-13 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. She also grabbed four rebounds, had one assist and seven steals.
 
Breanna Mobley, Western Michigan, Forward
Junior – Lansing, Mich./Lansing Waverly
Junior forward Breanna Mobley continued her dominate play last week averaging team-highs in points (22.0), rebounds (8.0) and blocks (4.0) as Western Michigan went 1-1 last week. Mobley shot a staggering 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the field and a sensational 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the charity stripe in 22 minutes. She began the week at Eastern Michigan where she recorded her eighth double-double of the season and 27th of her career, pouring in a team-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds and three blocks as WMU fell in overtime to the Eagles. Just three days later Mobley notched her 1,000th career point in a Bronco comeback win over Miami. She totaled a game-high 23 points to go along with six rebounds. The Lansing, Mich. native is averaging 16.1 points and 8.5 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per contest this season
 
Courtney Woods, Northern Illinois, Forward/Guard
Junior – Brisbane, Australia/St. Margaret’s Anglican
Courtney Woods averaged 28.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists and shot 20-of-44 from the field, including 7-of-19 from three-point territory. The Huskie junior also shot 90 percent from the free throw line, going 9-of-10. Woods posted a double-double, scoring 25 points and hauling in 10 rebounds, all defensive in NIU's three-point setback to Central Michigan. It was her third double-double of the season. She followed that performance up with a game-high 31 points and seven rebounds against Eastern Michigan. It was Woods' third 30-point effort of the season.