MAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week
Micaela Kelly, Central Michigan
Guard, Senior, Detroit, Mich. (Martin Luther King)
Central Michigan senior guard Micaela Kelly turned in a huge performance on Saturday as she helped lead the Chippewas to a thrilling 90-87 road victory over rival Ohio. The Detroit native poured in a team-best 28 points shooting 47.9 percent (10-of-21) from the floor including a 40 percent (4-of-10) clip from behind the arc. She also chipped in on the glass bringing down six rebounds and dished out four assists in the contest. On the season, rank No.3 in the MAC and No.17 in the country in scoring averaging 23.7 point per game.
Other Nominees
Erica Johnson, Ohio
Guard, RS, Junior, Mansfield, Ohio (Mansfield Senior)
Redshirt junior guard Erica Johnson posted 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including four made threes, in Ohio's game against Central Michigan. Johnson was one short of a double-double with nine rebounds, and added three assists. Johnson has now had 20 or more points in five games this season.
Areanna Combs, Eastern Michigan
Guard, Redshirt Senior, Oklahoma City, Okla. (Putnam City West) (Oklahoma State)
Redshirt senior guard Areanna Combs was outstanding for the Green and White in the team's game against Kent State Saturday, Jan. 2. The most dominant player on the floor, Combs cruised to a season-high 29-points as she hit nine shots from the field an drilled 11-of-13 opportunities from the charity stripe. Her 11 free throws are the third most in a game by any player in the league this season, while only six individual-point performances have been better in the MAC this year. Combs was the only player in the conference last week to record such a performance. In the midst of another All-MAC-caliber campaign for Eastern, Combs leads the team and ranks sixth in the MAC with a 19.5 points per game scoring average. She is first in the conference and 17th nationally in field goals made (61). Defensively, she leads the league and ranks eighth nationally in total steals (26), four of which she added against the Golden Flashes.
The Oklahoma City native has scored in double figures in seven of EMU's eight games and 31 of her 32 career games with the Green and White. She has notched a team-best five games with 20+ points this season, and has led EMU in scoring on six occasions.
Taylor Williams, Western Michigan
Forward, Redshirt Freshman, New Baltimore, Mich. (Dakota)
Redshirt freshman Taylor Williams did a little bit of everything against Northern Illinois on Saturday, posting 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three blocks and four steals. The 12 points was one shy of Williams’ career-high as the redshirt freshman forward was 5-of-16 from the field and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line. Williams three blocks and four steals against the Huskies were also career-highs. Williams has now led the Broncos in rebounding in three of their five games. For the season, Williams is averaging 8.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Lexi Fleming, Bowling Green
Guard, Freshman, Cincinnati, Ohio (Mercy McAuley)
Bowling Green went on the road and defeated Ball State by 34 points to improve to 3-0 in the MAC and 7-1 overall. Once again, freshman guard Lexi Fleming was a big part of BG’s success, as she scored a game-high 19 points. The win was the Falcons’ largest MAC road victory in nearly nine years, since February of 2012. Fleming paced all players in scoring, and also tied for game honors with four assists. She added three steals and a pair of rebounds in the 89-55 win. Fleming has scored in double digits in each of her first eight games as a Falcon, and has led the team in scoring seven times in those eight games. She leads the team with 19.5 points per game, and is also averaging 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 3.0 steals per contest. In three MAC games – all wins – Fleming has a team-high 22.0 ppg along with 2.3 apg and 3.0 spg. She is shooting 58.8 percent from the field (24-of-53) and 60% (9-of-15) from three-point range in MAC games.
Lonasia Brewer, Akron
Forward, So., Akron, Ohio
Sparked by a career-high 21 points, Akron sophomore F Lonasia Brewer (Akron, Ohio) posted her first career double-double with a team-best 21-point and 11-rebound performance at Toledo on Jan. 2. She helped the Zips to a 33-32 halftime advantage finishing the opening half with a team-high 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a 2-for-2 mark beyond the arc, while pulling down five rebounds. Her 11 rebounds represented a career-high mark, and helped Akron to post a 36-34 rebounding edge, including the Zips recording a season-best 14 offensive rebounds. Akron finished the contest limiting Toledo's Quinesha Lockett, the Rockets' leading scorer at 19.0 points per game, to only three points in the contest.
Sophia Wiard, Toledo
Guard, Sophomore, Muskegon, Mich. (Oakridge)
Sophomore Sophia Wiard poured in 12 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead Toledo to a 65-57 victory over Akron on Saturday in Savage Arena. The 2020-21 team captain was credited with two triples, two field goals and two free throws over the course of the final 10 minutes to help the Midnight Blue & Gold secure its third-straight triumph. Wiard, who was limited to a season-low 19:34 minutes due to early foul trouble, scored all 16 points in the second half. With the score tied 55-55 with 4:17 left in regulation, Wiard drained a huge three-point field goal to give Toledo a lead it would not give up. Moments later, the Muskegon, Mich. native converted an acrobatic layup with the shot clock about to expire to extend the Rockets' advantage to six points, 63-57. She then finished off Toledo's scoring with two charity tosses in the final minute to preserve the home victory.
Peyton Scott, Miami
Guard, Sophomore, Lynchburg, Ohio
Peyton Scott led Miami with 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists in its lone contest of the new year versus Buffalo. The sophomore was just two points and one rebound shy of her career bests, while battling foul trouble for most of the contest.
Chelby Koker, NIU
Guard, Sophomore, Racine, Wis. (Shoreland Lutheran)
Koker led NIU with 21 points on Saturday in the Huskies' 73-56 win over Western Michigan. She added six rebounds and three assists. Koker was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line to make her 36-for-37 on the season. It was her sixth 20-point effort of the year in eight games. Koker had 11 points in the first half to lead NIU to a 35-24 halftime lead.
Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo
Guard, Sophomore, Rochester, NY (Edison Tech)
Sophomore guard Dyaisha scored a team-high 23 points to go along with seven assists and four steals to lead Buffalo to a 75-67 win at Miami (OH) on Saturday. It was the sixth 20+ point performance of the season for Fair. The Rochester, NY native leads the Bulls in points (22.4), and assists (5.8) per game. Fair is currently 19th in the nation in scoring (22.4), 14th in free throws made (45), 13th in free throw attempts (58), 17th in assists and 20th in assists per game (5.8).
