WBB CO-EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cece Hooks, Ohio
Guard, Junior, Dayton, Ohio (Thurgood Marshall)
Junior guard Cece Hooks (Dayton, Ohio) averaged 26.5 points per game last week, including a season-high 28 points at Western Michigan. Hooks had 25 points in Ohio's win over Ball State. Hooks was 10-of-18 in the win over BSU, and added seven rebounds and three steals. Hooks had nine steals last week after producing six at WMU.
Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo
Guard, Freshman, Rochester, NY (Edison Tech)
Freshman Dyaisha Fair had a stellar week as she led Buffalo to a pair of wins over Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan, averaging 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals on the week. On Wednesday, Fair led the Bulls to a 65-59 win over the Falcons as she scored a game-high 26 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. On Sunday, Fair recorded her second straight 20+ point performance, scoring a game-high 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, to go along with five rebounds and three assists. The Rochester, NY native is currently fifth in the nation in points per game (23.2) and three point field goals made per game (3.47).
WBB WEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Courtney Woods, NIU
Forward, Redshirt-Senior, Brisbane, Australia (St. Margaret's)
Courtney Woods moved into third place on NIU’s career scoring chart this week, averaging 22.5 points per game as NIU split games against Kent State and Akron. The redshirt-senior opened the week with 25 points, seven rebounds, and three assists Wednesday night against Kent State. On Saturday, Woods led all scorers with 20 points as the Huskies snapped a six-game losing streak with a 70-65 win at Akron. In two games this week, Woods shot 48.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from the three-point line, and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. She now has 1,934 career points, putting her 66 points away from becoming NIU’s third 2,000-point scorer.
Other Nominees
Haliegh Reinoehl, Akron
Forward, Senior, Westfield, Ind. (Westfield HS)
Senior forward Haliegh Reinoehl nearly averaged a double-double this past week against Toledo and Northern Illinois scoring 17.0 points (34 total points) and 9.5 rebounds (19 total rebounds) per game to pace the Zips offensive attack. Akron's captain shot 47.6-percent from the floor and 83.3-percent from the charity stripe. Against the Rockets, Reinoehl scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season and scored a game-high 19 points and fell one rebound shy (9) of back-to-back double-doubles.
Madisen Parker, Bowling Green
Guard, Junior, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Homestead)
Bowling Green’s Madisen Parker averaged a team-leading 17.5 points per game as the Falcons suffered a pair of narrow road losses to Buffalo and Toledo last week. Parker shot 9-of-19 (47.4%) from three-point land to remain near the top of each of the NCAA’s long-distance shooting lists. Parker had 14 points at UB, then scored a game-high 21 points at Toledo. In the latter game, her five three-pointers included a key triple that gave the Falcons a two-point lead with just 37.3 seconds remaining in regulation. She also had five rebounds and a career-high five assists against the Rockets. On the season, she is averaging a team-leading 14.0 points per game, along with 4.1 rebounds per contest. She leads the team with 61 three-pointers made and a 49.2% success rate from the arc.
Molly Davis, Central Michigan
Guard, Freshman, Midland, Mich. (Dow)
Central Michigan freshman guard Molly Davis turned in an impressive week as they Chippewas extended their Mid-American Conference unbeaten streak to five with victories over Ball State and Western Michigan. The Midland, Mich., native averaged 16.5 points per game over the two-game stretch and shot 52.2 % (12-of-23) from the floor and 40% (4-of-10) for behind the arc. In Wednesday's 66-39 home win over the Cardinals, Davis tallied 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting while dishing out a team-high seven assists to go along with five rebounds. In Saturday's 80-70 victory over the Broncos in Kalamazoo, she finished with 19 points while bringing down six boards. On the season, Davis leads the team and ranks No.2 in the MAC in assists averaging 4.6 per contest.
Areanna Combs, Eastern Michigan
Guard, Redshirt Junior, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Putnam City West) (Oklahoma State))
Redshirt junior Areanna Combs has another great week on the court for Eastern Michigan, helping the team earn a win over Miami, Jan. 15, and playing outstanding in a close loss at Buffalo, Jan. 18. The Oklahoma city native scored 14 points in an 80-53 slashing of the RedHawks while dishing out four helpers. Against Buffalo, she used a second half surge to pull the Eagles within striking distance of the Bulls. Although EMU fell by three, 66-63, Combs put up 14 points and brought in five rebounds. Combs has been outstanding for the Eagles in the 10 games she has played this season. The Oklahoma City native has scored in double-figures in each contest, dropping a career-best 32 points against BGSU, Jan. 4. In all, Combs is averaging a team-best 18.5 points per game, an average that only two players in the MAC have outpaced this season.
Nila Blackford, Kent State
Forward, Freshman, Louisville, Ky. (Dupont Manual)
Nila Blackford led Kent State to a 2-0 road trip by averaging 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Blackford shot 55.9-percent from the floor and connected on both of her three-point field goal attempts. She played terrific individual defense against All-MAC wing Courtney Woods on back-to-back plays in the final 30 seconds to help close out a win at Northern Illinois on Wednesday. Blackford scored 19 points and had a team-high four assists to match her career-high. Against Miami on Saturday, she led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed eight boards.
Quinesha Lockett, Toledo
Guard, Freshman, Omaha, Neb. (Benson)
Freshman Quinesha Lockett averaged a team-high 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals in a pair of Toledo victories last week. The only Rocket to score in double figures in both MAC cross-division contests, Lockett shot 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from the field and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from the free throw line in 33.0 minutes. The Omaha, Neb. native opened the week with a team-high 11 points, two boards and one steal in 26 minutes vs. Akron on Wednesday. Three days later against arch-rival Bowling Green, the first-year Rocket tallied a season-high 20 points, three caroms, a season-best four dimes, one rejection and a season-tying high three thefts in a season-best 40 minutes. Lockett has now scored at least 10 points in four-straight games and on seven occasions this year, tied for the second-highest total on the team.
Leighah-Amori Wool, WMU
Forward, Jr, Evanston ILL
WMU defeated Ohio 73-72 in the final seconds of the game thanks to a basket from Leighah-Amori Wool. With the Bobcats up 72-71 with 12 seconds remaining, the Broncos brought the ball in-bounds to Wool, who hooked a layup in the paint as the game wound down to give the Broncos the victory seconds away from the buzzer. Wool led the team with 17 points off a 50 percent (5-of-10) shooting mark with two made baskets from long range. She added seven rebounds, four assists, and a team-high two blocks to her numbers on the night. On Saturday against CMU, she had 11 points with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Wool is currently second on the team in rebounding, third in scoring, and second in assists.
