Mid-American Conference

MAC East Player of the Week
Erica Donovan, Bowling Green, Forward
R-Junior, San Antonio, Texas (John Jay)
Bowling Green’s Erica Donovan had a double-double as the Falcons posted a 66-55 win over Cincinnati in the team’s lone game of the week. Donovan led all players in scoring, with 17 points, and paced the Falcons with 10 rebounds in the win over the Bearcats. She had 30% of the team’s successful field goals on the day, going 6-of-11, and was a perfect 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. On the year, Donovan is averaging 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. She has topped the Falcons in both points and rebounds in each of the last three games. Donovan has scored in double figures in each of the last five games, and is averaging 16.4 ppg in that time. Donovan has two double-doubles in the last four games, and fell just one rebound shy of posting a double-double in each of the other two games in that stretch.

MAC West Player of the Week
Nathalie Fontaine, Ball State, Forward
Junior, Stockholm, Sweden
Behind a season-high 29-point performance from junior Nathalie Fontaine, the Ball State women’s basketball team defeated Oakland 75-50 Saturday in Worthen Arena. Ball state scored the first basket of the game 47 seconds into the contest on a Fontaine basket and led for the remaining 39:03 of the contest. Fontaine opened the second half with a quick layup which sparked a 16-5 scoring spree to put the Cardinals up by 15 (43-28) with just over 14 minutes left to play in the ball game. For the game Fontaine led all scoreres with 29 points plus tallied a game-high 13 rebounds and a team-best five assists.  The 29-point performance has moved Fontaine into 17th on Ball State's all-time scoring list with total of 1,076 career points.


Other Nominees:
Hannah Plybon, Akron, Guard
Sophomore, Orrville, Ohio
Sophomore Hannah Plybon led the Zips to their seventh-consecutive victory to open the 2014-15 campaign with an 18-point, three-assist and two-rebound performance in a come-from-behind 89-61 win over Morehead State. In a contest that was a tightly-contested affair in the first half, Plybon scored 11 of her career-best 18 points in the initial stanza on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-for-5 beyond the arc. She finished the game shooting 60 percent from the field (6-of-10), while connecting on more than 57 percent (.571) from three-point range (4-of-7). She also distributed a season-high three assists against only one turnover, while pulling down two rebounds and recording one steal. On the season, Plybon is third on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg), while recording 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest. She is shooting 38.1 percent from  the field and nearly 41 percent (.409) from beyond the arc. She has connected on a team-best 18 three-pointers.

Christa Baccas, Buffalo, C/F
Senior, Hillburn, NY/Suffern
Returning to the court for the first time in five games, senior captain Christa Baccas came off the bench to put up team-best numbers of 16 points and seven boards in UB's 65-58 come-from-behind win at Cornell Thursday. She added three blocks and two steals while shooting 80.0 percent (8-10) from the floor. After trailing by as many as eight in the second, Baccas had a steal and a fast break layup to tie the game at 50-50. She went on to score the go-ahead bucket with 1:41 left in the game.

Kerby Tamm, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior, Petoskey, Mich. (Petoskey HS)
Senior Kerby Tamm played an instrumental role in Central Michigan’s offense Saturday versus Memphis. Tamm scored a game-high 18 points, all coming from behind the 3-point arc. The senior tied her career best six 3-pointers in the game in 37 minutes of play for the Chippewas. Tamm also dished out four assists, pulled down three rebounds and had a steal on the afternoon. Saturday’s performance moves Tamm into sixth place all-time in CMU history in career 3-pointers (132). The senior entered the season ranked first in career 3-point percentage (.422).

Cha Sweeney, Eastern Michigan, Guard
Sophomore, Toledo, Ohio-Rogers
On the week, Sweeney averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assist in 30.5 minutes of work. Against Cleveland, she poured in 18 second half points to propel EMU to a hard-fought home victory. She finished with 20 points while swiping two steals and grabbing six rebounds. She followed it up with a 20 point, seven rebound and three steal performance against Oral Roberts. The Toledo, Ohio native shot 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from the field and connected on 14-of-23 free throw tosses.

Hannah McCue, Miami, Forward
Junior, Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River
McCue was dominant on the boards in both games this past week, while setting a new career high in scoring this past Wednesday. Against Valparaiso, she had a career-high 26 points to go with 15 rebounds in Miami’s 82-59 win. She hit seven three-point baskets, which was only two short of the single-game school record. She also had three assists and two blocks in 30 minutes of action. McCue turned into a defensive leader on Saturday at Evansville, bringing in another 16 rebounds. She also had three more assists and two more blocks in 33 minutes of action.

Kiyanna Black, Ohio, Guard
Junior, Columbus, Ohio/Columbus Africentric
Black led the Bobcats in their 87-67 victory against Morehead State on Dec. 3. Black scored 19 points and was one of six Bobcats to score in double figures. She was also 7-of-13 from field goal range and 5-of-9 from three point range. She also recorded three rebounds and had two steals. On Dec. 6 in a 76-68 loss to East Carolina, Blak led the Bobcats again with 17 points and three rebounds.