WBB EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cece Hooks, Ohio
Guard, Junior, Dayton, Ohio (Thurgood Marshall)
Cece Hooks set a career-high in week where she averaged 26.5 points per game. Hooks' career high came at Central Michigan, where she had 35 points on 14-of-29 shooting and 7-of-11 from the free throw line. Hooks added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in the game. Hooks started the week with 18 points in Ohio's win over Akron. Hooks had tied her season-highs in both steals and rebounds with seven and nine, respectively and added four assists. For the week, Hooks averaged 26.5 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals while shooting 21-of-52 from the field.
WBB WEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Molly Davis, Central Michigan
Guard, Freshman, Midland, Mich. (Dow)
Central Michigan freshman guard Molly Davis put on a show this past week as the Chippewas ran their Mid-American Conference winning streak to a perfect 9-0 with overtime victories over Buffalo and Ohio. The Midland, Mich., native averaged 25.5 points over the two-game stretch while shooting 60% (20-of-29) from the floor. In Wednesday's 98-93 double-overtime road win over the Bulls, Davis matched a career-high with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting including a season-best 6-of-9 performance from behind the arc. In another 92-90 overtime win over the Bobcats at home on Saturday, she posted 23 points on 10-of-14 from the field while dishing out five assists and bringing down six rebounds. On the season, Davis ranks No.2 in the MAC in field goal percentage (53.0%).
Other Nominees
Haliegh Reinoehl, Akron
Forward, Senior, Westfield, Ind. (Westfield HS)
Senior Haliegh Reinohel continues to be a leader for the Akron women's basketball team as the Zips captain averaged a double-double in week 5 of MAC play scoring 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 37.5-percent (12-for-32) from the floor, 7-for-8 from the line, and grabbed five key offensive rebounds. Against the Bobcats, Reinoehl scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds, while the senior recorded her fifth double-double of the season notching a team-high 19 points and 15 rebounds in 41 minutes of action. In the overtime period, Reinoehl helped lead the Zips to victory scoring two points in the all five minutes of OT.
Jasmin Samz, Ball State
Guard, Graduate Senior, Wausau, Wis.(Wausau West)
Samz scored in doubles figures in both the Cardinals contest last week. She opened mid-week MAC action with a 14-point performance at Kent State shooting 50 percent from the field and went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Samz registered a game 19 points against Western Michigan on Saturday helping the Cardinals to a 68-65 victory over the Broncos. With Samz performance, the Cardinals were able to remain undefeated in MAC play at home with a 5-0 ledger in Worthen Arena. Samz went 7-of-13 from the field against the Broncos while knocking down three 3-pointers. For the week, Samz led the squad averaging 16.5 points per contest. She was perfect from the free throw line and shot over 50 percent from the field.
Angela Perry, Bowling Green
Center, Junior, Rochester, Ill. (Rochester)
Bowling Green’s Angela Perry led the Falcons and tied for game honors with 23 points in BG’s lone game of the week. The MAC leader in field-goal percentage, Perry made 10 of her 12 shots from the field vs. the RedHawks, moving above 60% for the season. Perry is now shooting 60.3% from the floor, ranking 11th in the nation. She now has a team-leading eight games of 20 or more points this season, and is averaging a BG-best 14.2 ppg on the year.
Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo
Guard, Freshman, Rochester, NY (Edison Tech)
Freshman Dyaisha Fair put together another stellar pair of performances as she averaged 26.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals. On Saturday, Fair led all scorers with 29 points while chipping in three rebounds, three assists and five steals. On Saturday, Fair led the Bulls with a game-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Fair has scored in double figures in 19 straight games, surpassing the 20-point mark 13 times, while recording two double-doubles. She has also led the Bulls in scoring in 16 of their 20 games. The Rochester, NY native is currently fourth in the country in scoring at 22.5 points per game and ranks second in the MAC and 12th nationally in three point field goals made per game (3.11).
Areanna Combs, Eastern Michigan
Guard, Redshirt junior, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Putnam City West) (Oklahoma State)
Redshirt junior Areanna Combs continued to prove she is one of the league’s best as she notched her 13th and 14th-consecutive double-digit scoring performances against Toledo, Jan. 29, and Akron, Feb. 1. In her first game of the week, Combs led Eastern to its first win inside Savage Arena since 2016, a dominant 77-62 win over Toledo. The 15-point margin of victory was Eastern’s best at Toledo since 2000. She put up a game-best 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting against the Rockets as she notched her fourth performance of 20+ points on the season. Against Akron, she was just as impressive. Although an injury sidelined her for the majority of the second half, Combs still managed to drop 12 points on 6-of-18 shooting in just 21 minutes of the floor. She was one of five Eagles to score in double-figures in the contest. Combs leads Eastern with an 18.1 points per game scoring average, a number that only two athletes in the Mid-American Conference outpace. Additionally, she leads all EMU scorers with 253 total points on the year (In just 14 games), and is second on the team with a 5.4 RPG average.
Peyton Scott, Miami
Guard, Freshman, Lynchburg, Ohio (Lynchburg-Clay)
Freshman guard Peyton Scott led an explosive Miami offense in an 80-59 win at Bowling Green on Saturday. Scott recorded her second 20-point game of the season, scoring 23 points (just one shy of her career-high). She had a career-high 10 field goals as she shot 10-of-14 (.714) from the field and 3-of-5 (.600) from three-point range. Scott matched her career-high eight rebounds and set a career-high five assists. She is averaging 12.2 points per game in her inaugural season with the RedHawks.
Gabby Nikitinaite, NIU
Guard, Junior, Orpington, Kent, UK (Coopers School)
Nikitiniate had 15 points and a game-high five assists in NIU's 64-63 win over Buffalo on February 1. In her first start since November 30, the junior guard tied a season-high with five three-pointers. Three of those triples came in the second half as NIU rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit. Her fifth assist came on Ally May's game-winning layup with 4.9 seconds left.
Nakiah Black, Toledo
Guard, Junior, Concord, N.C. (Fort Trail Academy)
Junior Nakiah Black averaged a team-high 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals in two games last week. The only Rocket to score in double figures in both contests, Black shot 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from the field, including an impressive 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from beyond the arc, and a near-perfect 93.8 percent (15-of-16) from the charity stripe in a squad-best 33.5 minutes. The two-time team captain opened the week with a team-high 13 points, five boards, four helpers and two thefts in 30 minutes vs. Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. Three days later against Kent State, Black totaled a contest-best 22 points, including 14 in the second half, to go along with six caroms, three dimes and two steals in a season-tying best 37 minutes. The Concord, N.C. native appeared in her 50th game as a member of the Midnight Blue & Gold against KSU and shot a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line. The last Rocket to make at least 10 free throws in a game was Mikaela Boyd against the Bobcats on Dec. 31, 2017 when she shot 12-of-13.
Breanna Mobley, WMU
Forward, R-Senior, Lansing Waverly
Breanna Mobley was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 15 rebounds in Saturday’s contest at Ball State. Mobley reached the milestone of 1,000 rebounds to go along with 1,000 career points in the first quarter of the game. She is the second Bronco to earn this achievement, joining Pat Charity ('78). She is also on her way to becoming WMU’s all-time leading rebounder.
