MAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo
Guard, Sophomore, Rochester, NY (Edison Tech)
Dyaisha Fair tied a career-high with 36 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists in a come-from-behind win over Bowling Green on Wednesday. It was her third 30+ point performance and ninth 20+ point performance of the season. The Rochester, NY native leads the Bulls in points (24.9) and assists (5.3) per game. She is currently ranked fourth in the nation in scoring (24.9) while also ranking in the top 20 nationally in free throws made (71) and attempted (91), three point field goals made (33), assists (58) and final points (274).
Other Nominees
Cece Hooks, Ohio
Guard, Senior, Dayton, Ohio (Thurgood Marshall)
Cece Hooks continued her hot scoring streak against Ball State and Central Michigan this past week. In Ohio's win over Central Michigan, Hooks filled it up with 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting in 31 minutes on the floor. Hooks added four assists and two steals in the win. At home against Ball State, Hooks had 18 points and hit one three while adding a season-high seven steals. Hooks is averaging 23.8 points per game this season, and has hit double-digits in every game.
Ce'Nara Skanes, Eastern Michigan
Forward, Redshirt Sophomore, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Putnam City West)
Redshirt sophomore forward Ce’Nara Skanes led Eastern Michigan in its two wins over Miami, Jan. 13, and Akron, Jan. 16. The second-year Eagle finished the week with an 16.0 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game average. She also added three blocks and three steals during EMU’s 2-0 week. Skanes started her week with an 11-point, eight rebound performance at Miami. She was an impressive 4-of-8 in the field, and was the team’s second-leading scorer in Eastern’s 20-point rout of the RedHawks, 61-41. Against Akron, Jan. 16, Skanes was purely unstoppable. Her game-best 21 point, 10-rebound performance not only led the game in both categories, but was also good for her league-leading sixth double-double of the season. The effort lifted EMU to another dominant win, this time in 18-point fashion, 64-46. The victory was EMU’s first at home this season, and put EMU at a 4-3 mark in conference play. Skanes’ three blocked shots for the week propelled her to the No. 1 spot in the conference, as she now has 14 on the season. In addition to being the league’s best shot-blocker and double-double candidate, she is top-five in numerous other areas, including FG% (48.6), Free throws made (60), rebounds (ranked first – 126), and rebounds per game (ranked first – 10.5).
Lexi Fleming, Bowling Green
Guard, Freshman, Cincinnati, Ohio (Mercy McAuley)
Bowling Green’s Lexi Fleming continues to state her case as one of the top freshmen in the country. Fleming averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals in a pair of road games last week. On Saturday, she led the Falcons in scoring for the 10th time in 12 games this season, scoring 21 points as BGSU won at Toledo, 69-57. Fleming also led BG with four assists, and had a game-high five steals in the win over the arch rivals, and she was 12-of-13 at the free-throw line. Fleming had 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists in BG’s midweek game at Buffalo, getting to the stripe nine times and making eight. Fleming ranks first among MAC freshmen in no fewer than 16 statistical categories kept by the NCAA, and she is listed among the top-five freshmen in the entire nation in 11 (eleven) of those categories.
Oshlynn Brown, Ball State
Forward, Senior, Chillicothe, Ohio (Chillicothe)
Senior forward Oshlynn Brown pulled down a career best 19 rebounds Wednesday helping the Cardinals to an 88-85 overtime victory at Ohio. Brown also finished the the night with a 21 point performance after shooting 58 percent (7-of-12) from the field. Brown helped Ball State out-rebound the Bobcats +20 (51-31). She had 15 defensive rebounds. Brown now has 911 rebounds for her career, 1,184 points and 38 double-doubles. Brown helped the Cardinals to their first win over Ohio since 2013-14 after hitting some key shots throughout the contest. In the extra period, Brown scored first for Ball State she also got a defensive rebound with 10 seconds remaining in OT to help seal the win for Ball State.
Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan
Guard, Senior, Detroit, Mich. (Martin Luther King)
Central Michigan senior guard Micaela Kelly posted a huge offense week for the Chippewas as she averaged 34.5 points over the two-game stretch and shot 54.5 percent (24-of-44) from the field including a 38.1 (8-of-21) percent clip from three-point distance. In a 104-73 loss at Northern Illinois on Wednesday, the Detroit native poured in a team-best 33 points on 11-of-20 shooting and went 4-of-10 from behind the arc. In a tightly contested 93-84 home loss to Ohio on Saturday, Kelly followed up her performance with a season-high 36 points shooting 13-of-24 from the floor and 4-of-11 from long-range. She also finished the week with an 81.3 percent (13-of-16) mark at the charity stripe. On the season, Kelly ranks No.2 in the MAC and No.9 in the NCAA in scoring averaging 24.5 points per contest.
Quinesha Lockett, Toledo
Guard, Sophomore, Omaha, Neb. (Benson H.S.)
Sophomore Quinesha Lockett averaged a team-high 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.5 steals in two games this past week. Lockett shot an impressive 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field, including 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from three-point land, and a near perfect 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the charity stripe in 32.8 minutes. The Omaha, Neb. native was the only Rocket to score in double figures in both contests. The 2020-21 team captain began the week with a game-high 23 points, five boards and a contest-best three steals in 36:25 minutes vs. Western Michigan on Wednesday. Three days later against arch-rival Bowling Green, she finished with a contest-tying high 21 points, six caroms and a squad-best two rejections. Lockett has now scored at least 20 points a team-high six times this year and seven occasions overall as a collegiate. She also registered at least 20 points in consecutive contests for the second time in 2020-21.
Peyton Scott, Miami
Guard, Sophomore, Lynchburg, Ohio (Lynchburg)
Peyton Scott averaged 24.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 5.0 steals per game over the past week. Scott had one of the best games in Miami history, flirting with a quadruple-double last Saturday versus NIU. The sophomore had 34 points, eight rebounds, eight steals and seven assists for the Red and White. Her 34 points were 10th most in school history and her eight steals rank fifth.
Chelby Koker, NIU
Guard, Sophomore, Racine, Wis. (Shoreland Lutheran)
Chelby Koker averaged 21.5 points per game this week as NIU extended its winning streak to four games with wins over Central Michigan and Miami. Koker filled the box score with 14 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in the Huskies' 104-73 win over Central Michigan Wednesday night. She followed that up with a career-high 29 points in an 87-79 win at Miami on Saturday. Koker was 10-for-12 at the free throw line against the RedHawks to move her free throw percentage to 91.2 percent. During the current four-game winning streak, Koker has averaged 20.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
