MAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week
Quinesha Lockett, Toledo
Guard, Sophomore, Omaha, Neb. (Benson)
Sophomore Quinesha Lockett led four Rockets in double figures with a career-high 24 points vs. A-10 member Duquesne on Friday, to go along with a season-tying best six caroms, three dimes and a squad-best three thefts in 34:01 minutes. Lockett’s previous-best effort was 22 points vs. Oakland in 2020-21 season opener on Nov. 29. The 2020-21 team captain shot 10-of-17 from the field, including 1-of-2 from three-point land, and a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe to register at least 20 points for the third time as a Rocket. Lockett was now scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games dating back to last season, averaging a team-high 15.1 ppg.
Other Nominees
Katie Davidson, Miami
Guard, Freshman, Indianapolis, Ind.
Freshman Katie Davidson continued the hot start to her season, averaging 16.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in contests versus Central Michigan and Evansville. She had 11 points and six rebounds versus CMU and then exploded for career-bests in points (23) and rebounds (13) at Evansville. For the week she also made eight three pointers.
Essence Booker, Ball State
Guard, Junior, Las Vegas, Nevada (Spring Valley)
Junior guard Essence Booker scored 10 of the game's first 12 points to help the Ball State women's basketball team close non-conference play with a dominating 98-42 win over Bellarmine Monday night at Freedom Hall. Led by Booker's run at the beginning of the game, Ball State took commanding 27-1 edge at the 2:31 mark of the opening period and never looked back. Booker led all players in scoring with a career-high 22 points. Booker finished the contest shooting 8-of-12 (.667) from the field and 3-of-4 (.750) from behind the arc, while hitting all three of her free throws. Booker continued to make her offensive presence known on Sunday at Akron. After a slow start, Booker hit some key shots for the Cardinals to help lift Ball State past the Zips. Booker ended the game with 14 points, she also knocked down four from behind the arc and had four steals. For the week, Booker averaged 18 points per contest while shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field and 54 percent (7-of-13) from behind the arc.
Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo
Guard, Sophomore, Rochester, NY (Edison Tech)
Dyaisha Fair led the Bulls to a 71-52 win over Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure on Saturday, scoring a game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Fair leads the Bulls in scoring (21.0), rebounds (7.2) and assists (5.5) per game.
Lexi Fleming, Bowling Green
Guard, Freshman, Cincinnati, Ohio (Mercy McAuley)
Bowling Green freshman guard Lexi Fleming had a game-high 18 points in BGSU’s lone game of the week, a 76-61 win at Morehead State. In addition to her point total, Fleming had seven rebounds and five steals, the highest totals of her young career in each category. The Falcons led by double digits for much of the second half, but when MSU made a run to cut BG’s lead to nine points, Fleming went on her own personal run, scoring the game’s next seven points, and the lead remained in double digits for the rest of the game. Fleming has scored in double digits in each of the first six games of the season, becoming is just the ninth BG player, and only the second freshman, to do so since 1993. She has a team-high 18.5 points per game, and is also averaging 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.7 steals per contest as BGSU is off to a 5-1 start.
Chelby Koker, NIU
Guard, Sophomore, Racine, Wis. (Shoreland Lutheran)
Chelby Koker averaged 21 points, 6.5 rebounds, and six assists per game this week against Ohio and Michigan State. The sophomore nearly had a triple-double on Wednesday night against Ohio, setting career-highs with 28 points and eight assists while grabbing eight rebounds. Koker scored 15 of NIU's 17 points in the fourth quarter. On Sunday afternoon Koker had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals at Michigan State. Koker shot 46.7 percent from the floor in two games this week, going 7-for-14 from the three-point line and 7-for-7 at the foul line. She is 30-for-31 from the free throw line through seven games.
Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan
Guard, Senior, Detroit, Mich. (Martin Luther King)
Central Michigan senior guard Micaela Kelly turned in a stellar week as the Chippewas split their games with a conference victory over Miami (OH) on Tuesday followed by a hard-fought loss to Michigan State on Friday. The Detroit native averaged 27.5 points per game for the week shooting 48.8 percent (20-of-41) from the floor and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from behind the arc. In Tuesday's 69-51 win over the RedHawks, Kelly put up 29 points on 11-of-23 shooting and was 4-of-9 from distance. She also brought down seven rebounds to go along with a block and a steal. In Friday's 79-70 loss to the Spartans, Kelly totaled a team-best 26 points on 9-of-18 from the field and was 6-of-12 from three-point range.
