Mid-American Conference

MAC East Player of the Week
Hannah Plybon, Akron, Guard
Sophomore, Orrville, Ohio/Orrville
Sophomore Hannah Plybon fashioned together a strong week to help spark the Zips to a 2-0 mark with victories over Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan. In two games, she registered 16.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 55.0 percent from the field and better than 47 percent (.471) from downtown. In Akron’s 67-59 triumph past the Falcons, Plybon scored eight points, including connecting on a pair of three pointers and distributing a game-high four assists against only one turnover. The victory was only the fourth-ever for the Zips against Bowling Green. In the Zips’ 65-48 win versus Eastern Michigan, Plybon turned in a career outing pouring in a career-best 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting (69.2 percent), including going 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. The six three-pointers represented the sixth-best single-game effort in program history. She proved nearly unstoppable in the first half as was 6-of-8 from the field and 5-for-7 from downtown. She made her first three-point attempt and missed the second before then nailing four consecutive three-point shots to finish the half with 17 points, one off her previous career high for scoring of 18 points versus Ohio Christian (12/20). On the season, Plybon is averaging 11.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game. She leads the Zips in triples (38) and three-point percentage (.400), while ranking third and fourth, respectively, in scoring (11.6) and assists (31).

MAC West Player of the Week
Nathalie Fontaine, Ball State, Forward
Junior, Stockholm, Sweden
With the help from Nathalie Fontaine, the Ball State women's basketball team has started Mid-American Conference play 3-0 for the first time since 2008-09, after posting wins over Miami and Western Michigan this week.  Fontaine led the Cardinals in scoring against the RedHawks Wednesday night in Worthen Arena after a 27-point performance after shooting 10-of-15 from the floor. Fontaine had scored 20 of those points in the first half alone. On Saturday the Cardinals hosted undefeated Western Michigan which resulted in a 54-36 victory for Ball State.  Fontaine scored 12 points in the victory which now gives her 1,219 points for her career and moves her into 13th all-time in scoring for the Cardinals.  She has now scored in double figures in 12 of Ball State's 14 games so far this season and has scored in double digits 68 times out of 80 total games in her career.  For the week Fontaine averaged 19.5 points per game, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds.


Other Nominees:
Mackenzie Loesing, Buffalo, Guard
Junior, Cincinnati, OH/St. Ursula Academy
Mackenzie Loesing became the fifth junior in program history to score 1,000 points putting up 24 on Wednesday at Central Michigan. The 21st overall to meet the 1,000-point milestone, she also drained her 100th career three-pointer, the ninth to do so in school history. Loesing added 13 points in the Bulls' 71-51 victory at Miami (OH) Saturday. She averaged 18.5 points in a 1-1 week for the Bulls. She swiped seven steals, while making a pair of starts and averaging 30.0 minutes per game. Loesing connected on 10-of-13 free throws (.769) on the week.

Crystal Bradford, Central Michigan, Guard
Senior, Detroit, Mich./Inkster HS
Central Michigan's Crystal Bradford continued to lead the Chippewas on the hardwood this week lifting CMU to its third-straight conference win. Bradford earned her 48thcareer double-double on Wednesday as the Chippewas defeated MAC East preseason favorite, Buffalo, 66-58. The senior had a game-high 28 points, 12 rebounds, dished out five assists and added four steals. Bradford shot 88 percent from the stripe, going 7-of-8 on the day. Saturday CMU went on to defeat Northern Illinois, 56-43, Bradford lead all-scores with 20 points. Bradford pulled down nine boards, adding four assists, two blocks and two steals. She currently ranks first in the MAC in scoring (21.7), third in rebounds (9.7), fourth in assists (4.0) and sixth in steals (2.0).

Sera Ozelci, Eastern Michigan, Guard
Junior, Ankara, Turkey-TED Ankara College (Odessa)
Junior Sera Ozelci (Ankara, Turkey-TED Ankara College (Odessa)) saw a career day on the hardwood with 11 points, including three treys off the bench. The 11 points nearly equaled her combined 17 points in her previous 11 contests. The 19 minutes and the four field goals made were also career-highs.

CiCi Shannon, Kent State, Center
Hazel Crest, Ill./Southern Illinois
Shannon led the Golden Flashes this week, capped off with a career performance in a win over Bowling Green. The senior kept the Flashes in the game at Toledo in the first half. On Saturday, she became the first Kent State player since 1992 to grab 20 or more rebounds in a game. She finished with 16 points and 20 rebounds in the contest as Kent State earned its first MAC victory. Shannon also had 5 blocks in the two games this week.

Quiera Lampkins, Ohio, Guard
Sophomore, Gahanna, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln
Lampkins led the Bobcats on Jan. 10 against Toledo, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. She was 9-of-13 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. Nine of her 10 rebounds were defensive, including the defensive rebound to help season the game with under two minutes left. The 65-58 victory against Toledo was the first time the Bobcats have defeated the Rockets since February 2008. On Jan. 7 against Western Michigan, Lampkins had 10 point and five rebounds in the 61-51 loss to the Broncos.