MAC Women's Basketball Players of the Week Announced
MAC East Player of the Week:
Joanna Smith / Buffalo / Guard
Jr. / Southaven, Miss. / Southaven
Junior guard Joanna Smith had the best week of her UB career this past week as she single-handily led her team to a 2-0 week with wins over conference foes Central Michigan and Kent State. Smith was unstoppable over the two game span as she averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals while also shooting 57.7% from the floor and 55.6% from behind the arc. The electric scorer had the best half of her career in the Bulls 67-61 win over Central Michigan as she was able to notch 19 first half points before drawing double teams in the second half and finishing with 21 points on 7-for-14 from the floor with seven assists in 35 minutes. On Saturday, Smith put on a clinic from behind the arc as she went 7-for-10 from deep en route to 25 points. The seven three-pointers for Smith were the most by a UB player since 2011 when Brittany Hedderson recorded seven and second most in a game in program history. She also finished off the road win over Kent State with seven rebounds (four offensive), two assists and two steals while going 8-for-12 overall from the floor. The junior leads the team in scoring (17.1 PPG) and ranks third on the team in rebounding (5.6 RPG) while breaking the 20-point plateau six times this season. Smith ranks second in the MAC in scoring in conference games as she is averaging 21.7 points through three MAC games.
MAC West Player of the Week:
Tinara Moore / Central Michigan / Forward
So. / Southgate, Mich. / Southgate Anderson
Central Michigan’s Tinara Moore had a career weekend as the 6’3 forward led the Chippewas in dominant fashion. The sophomore poured in 35 points and grabbed 20 rebounds – both career-highs – in leading the Central Michigan women’s basketball team to 97-77 rout of Akron in a key MAC road win. Moore made all 16 of her field goal attempts, becoming just the second player in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history to finish a perfect performance in so many attempts. It was Moore’s third consecutive double-double and her fifth in the last seven games. A game earlier Moore tallied 10 points and pulled down a game-high 15 boards against Buffalo. During MAC play Moore is averaging 18.7 ppg., shooting 74 percent from the floor (25-of-34) and is pulling down rebounds at a rate of 15.7 per game.
Other Nominees:
Hannah Plybon / Akron / Guard
Jr. / Orrville, Ohio / Orrville
Junior Hannah Plybon led the Zips to a 1-1 mark this past week, including sparking a 68-65 overtime victory at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 6. Plybon netted 17 of her game-high 22 points in the second half against Eastern Michigan, including seven in overtime to spark Akron's comeback. She connected on five three pointers in a game for the fourth time this season, while also pulling down six rebounds. Plybon closed the week scoring 17 points and distributing a pair of assists in a setback versus Central Michigan.
On the season, she is averaging 15.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game and is shooting more than 33 percent (.331) from beyond the arc having connected on a team-high 41 triples.
Baleigh Reid / Miami / Guard
So. / Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg
Reid continued to be Miami’s leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points this week as the RedHawks split their two games. Against Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Reid led Miami to its first MAC win of the season, finishing with 15 points, while also bringing in five rebounds. While, the Red and White struggled offensively against Ball State on Saturday, Reid still was able to find a way to put the ball in the basket. She finished with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting and also had three steals and two rebounds against the Cardinals. Reid has now led Miami in scoring in 11 of its 14 games this season.
Kiyanna Black / Ohio / Guard
Sr. / Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Afrocentric
Senior guard Kiyanna Black helped lead Ohio to a perfect 2-0 week during the second week of conference play, also leading Ohio to a 3-0 conference play start for only the third time in program history.
On Jan. 6 against Ball State, Black led all scorers with 16 points, going 4-of-18 from the field and 4-of-16 from beyond the arc in the Bobcats’ 73-48 victory. Black also added two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Black also made all four of her free throws down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
On Jan. 9 at Bowling Green, Black once against led all scorers with 18 points, leading Ohio to the 72-57 victory. Black was 7-of-17 from the field and 4-of-11 from three-point range. She also added three rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block in the road win victory. Black helped jump start the Bobcats in the third quarter, scoring five straight points to open the frame and then added another three-pointer with 2:08 left in the third while the Bobcats were in the midst of a 10-0 run, giving Ohio a 9 point lead at the time.
Overall on the weekend, Black scored a total of 34 points (17.0 a game), grabbed five rebounds (2.5 per game), dished out three assists (1.50 per game), grabbed 4 steals (2.00 per game) and grabbed one block. Overall Black shot 11-of-35 (.314) from the field and 8-of-27 (.296) from three-point range. Black also made all four of her free throws.
Nathalie Fontaine / Ball State / Guard
Sr. / Stockholm. Sweden
Fontaine helped the Cardinals remain undefeated at home this season (7-0) with Ball State's 66-41 win over Miami Saturday in MAC action. Fontaine scored in double figures against Ohio and Miami in this weeks action. She has now scored in double figures in all of Ball State's games this year and has now scored in double digits 100 times out of 111 total game. At Ohio, Fontaine collected her 25th double-double of her career after scoring 15 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. On Saturday, Fontaine chipped in 16 points and needs only 26 points to move up to second all-time in scoring, she currently has 1,818 points for her career. For the week, Fontaine led the Cardinals with 15.5 points per contest and 9.5 rebounds.
Cha Sweeney / Eastern Michigan / Guard
Jr. / Toledo, Ohio / Rogers
Junior Cha Sweeney continued to pace the EMU offense in a pair of overtime contests with an average of 24.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists a game. In 37 minutes against Akron, Sweeney lead the Eagles with 20 points while tallying six rebounds and five assists before fouling out late in overtime. At Northern Illinois, Sweeney helped key some late game heroics as the team trailed by five points with 2:26 remaining in the contest. She finished the game with 28 points on 12-of-24 shooting to go with four steals and four assists. It marked the third time this season the Eagles had rally to win a game after trailing by nine-or-more points.
Kelly Smith / Northern Illinois / Forward
So. / Hartland, Wis. / Arrowhead
Sophomore Kelly Smith was an all-around force for the Huskies in the first full week of MAC play, highlighting her week with a double-double versus preseason favorite Eastern Michigan.
Smith scored a career-high 20 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, also a career-high, versus the Eagles as NIU nearly defeated EMU in regulation but fell in overtime, 87-80. The Hartland, Wis., native recorded five offensive rebounds in the game as she scored four-second chance baskets in the game.
At Miami, the sophomore registered eight rebounds, scoring six points.
Brenae Harris / Toledo / Guard
Sr. / Marion, Ohio / Marion
Senior Brenae Harris nearly averaged a triple-double in a pair of Toledo victories this past week. Harris contributed team highs in points (20.0 ppg), rebounds (8.5 rpg) and assists (9.0 apg), helping the Rockets even their overall record to 7-7. The two-time MAC West Division Player of the Week shot .440 (11-of-25) from the field and knocked down a perfect 16-of-16 from the free throw line in a squad-best 37.5 minutes per contest.
Harris opened the week with a game-high 18 points, six boards and a season-tying best nine helpers in 37 minutes vs. Kent State on Wednesday. Three days later, she totaled her third collegiate double-double with 22 points and a career-tying best 11 rebounds vs. Western Michigan on Saturday. She just missed tallying the second triple-double in program history, finishing with a season-tying best nine assists. The Marion, OH recorded the lone triple-double in school annals against Wright State in the first round of the 2015 Postseason WNIT (March 20).
Overall this season, Harris is averaging a team-high 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, a squad-best 5.4 assists and 1.1 steals in a team-high 34.9 minutes per game.
Meredith Shipman / Western Michigan / Guard
Jr. / Fort Wayne, Ind. / Snyder
Shipman had a game for the ages on Saturday at Toledo, arguably the toughest environment to play in in the MAC. Shipman went 9-for-14 from beyond the arc, setting a new Western Michigan record with nine 3-pointers made in the game. The old record of eight stood for over 14 years was held by Curleta Harris against Illinois State. In the game against Toledo, Shipman started 0-for-3 from 3-point range, but went 5-for-6 in the second quarter and 3-for-4 in the third quarter on her way to a career-high 31 points. The Broncos as a team hit 15 3-pointers in the game, tied for the second most in school history with Shipman making nine of them. She also led the team with two steals.
Shipman is 38-for-74 from beyond the arc this season shooting an outstanding 51.4-percent, a mark that is good for tops in the MAC and tied for second in the NCAA. She has been a huge part to the Broncos success this season, connecting on more than three 3-pointers in eight of the 15 games this season.
