MAC Women's Basketball Players of the Week Announced
MAC East Player of the Week:
Kiyanna Black / Ohio / Guard
Sr. / Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Afrocentric
Ohio women’s basketball senior guard Kiyanna Black put together another dominating performance on Feb. 13 at Toledo, helping the Bobcats to a 1-0 weekend, a 19-4 overall record and an 11-1 conference record.
In the 77-57 victory against the Rockets, Black was masterful, dropping 38 points, one off her career high, while going 14-of-27 (.518) from the field. Black was also 10-of-20 (.500) from three-point range. Black added two rebounds, dished out one assist and had one steal in 38 minutes of action.
Black’s 10 made three-pointers tied the Mid-American Conference and Ohio program record for three’s made in a game by an individual. Black also set the Savage Arena record for threes made by an individual. Black also set a career-high in field goals made (14), attempted (27), three-pointers made (10) and three-pointers attempted (20).
MAC West Player of the Week:
Nathalie Fontaine / Ball State / Guard
Sr. / Stockholm, Sweden
Senior guard Nathalie Fontaine led all scorers with a 28-point performance which brings her career point total to 2,000. She becomes the second player in program history (Tamara Bowie is first with 2,091 points) to reach that mark and the 15th in MAC women’s basketball history. Fontaine also collected her 30th career double-double against the Golden Flashes with 10 rebounds. Against Central Michigan, Fontaine again carried the Cardinals on her back leading all scorers with 29 points and also pulled down 14 rebounds. Fontaine has now scored in double figures in every game this season and 108 times total in her career. The senior needs 92 points to be the all-time leading scorer at Ball State.
Other Nominees:
Alex Ricketts / Akron / Guard
Jr. / Mercer, Pa. / Kennedy Catholic
Junior Alex Ricketts made the most of her first career start posting a 12-point, 12-rebound effort in 69-65 setback at Western Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 13. The double-double was the first of her career and in the process set new career-high marks for scoring (12) and rebounding (12).
On the season, Ricketts is averaging 3.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
Stephanie Reid / Buffalo / Guard
So. / Melbourne, VIC, Australia / The Peninsula School
Sophomore point guard Stephanie Reid had a strong week for the Bulls as she led UB to a 1-1 mark after a pair of road games. Reid finished the week averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while helping UB secure their fourth MAC game of the season On Saturday. The Australia native turned in a solid all-around game on Wednesday in the Bulls loss to Toledo as she finished with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds while also going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Reid backed that game up with a huge 21-point outing against Bowling Green. She led all players in scoring as she went 8-for-18 from the floor while sinking as career-high four three pointers in the Bulls victory over the Falcons. Reid also chipped in four assists and two rebounds while scoring 14 of her 21 points in the second quarter alone, a career-best quarter. On the year, she is averaging 10.7 points, 4.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game while going over the 20-point plateau twice this season.
Larissa Lurken / Kent State / Guard
Jr. / Cottage Grove, Minn. / Park
Lurken led Kent State to a big nine-point win against Ball State on Saturday afternoon at the M.A.C. Center. She led all on the team with 24 points and 5 steals to keep the Cardinals out of sync on offense. Down the stretch in the back-and-forth finish, Lurken scored nine points in the final 3:09 to help clinch the win.
Kendall McCoy / Miami / Forward
Fr. / Slyvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview
McCoy had a breakout week, setting new career marks in both games. She averaged 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the week. Making her first start since the first game of the season, McCoy set a new career-high with 19 points at Northern Illinois on Wednesday. That included draining three 3-pointers. Against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, McCoy recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. She had two steals in each game during the week and finished a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
Da'Jourie Turner / Central Michigan / Guard
Sr. / Detroit, Mich. / Warren Fitzgerald
Central Michigan earned a pair of wins over the week to improve to 11-2 and remain on top of the MAC West standings for its eighth straight win. On Saturday CMU erased a 17-point third-quarter deficit, outscoring Northern Illinois 30-10 in the fourth quarter on Saturday to claim a 73-67 Mid-American Conference victory. Senior Da’Jourie Turner scored 21 of her career-high 24 points in the second half to pace the Chippewas, who trailed 38-25 at halftime. The Detriot, Mich. native got to the line 18 times over two games sinking 15 of her attempts (.833) on the week. Turner averaged 16.0 points per game in the Chippewas’ two victories, dishing out 3.5 assists.
Cha Sweeney / Eastern Michigan / Guard
Jr. / Toledo, Ohio / Rogers
Junior Cha Sweeney led the way for the Eagles (15-8, 6-6 MAC), scoring a game-high 24 on 10-of-20 shooting, including four three-pointers. It marked the 33rd time in her career she has posted at least 20 points in a game. Eastern put on a defensive clinic in the win, forcing Miami (9-14, 3-9 MAC) to commit 29 turnovers, the highest total the Green and White have forced a Division I team into this season.
Courtney Woods / Northern Illinois / Guard
Fr. / Brisbane, Australia / St. Margaret's Angelican
Freshman Courtney Woods continued to thrive as a starter for the Huskies, leading NIU with 18.5 points this week and shooting above .500 from the field and behind the three-point line.
She set a new career-high versus Miami (Ohio) Wednesday morning, converting 5-of-8 shots from distance to score 19 points. She also dished a career-high five assists to help the Huskies set a season-high for helpers with 24.
She continued her hot shooting against Central Michigan as she finished 7-for-13 from the field for a .538 clip, dishing four assists in the contest. Defensively, she also recorded two steals and an NIU individual season-high four blocks to help Northern Illinois to eight in the game.
With seven treys during the week, she continued her hot hand behind the three-point line, shooting 17-for-33 (53.1 percent).
Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott / Toledo / Guard
So. / London, England / Greig City Academy
Sophomore Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott led the Rockets in scoring in both games last week, averaging 16.0 points in 31.5 minutes. Bravo-Harriott is also contributing 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest during this stretch. The 2014-15 MAC Freshman of the Year is shooting an impressive 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the floor, including a stellar 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from beyond the arc. She started off the week with a season-best five triples and finished with 19 points and two helpers in 31 minutes vs. Buffalo on Wednesday. Three days later against Ohio, Bravo-Harriott totaled 13 points and a squad-tying high six caroms in 32 minutes.
Bravo-Harriott has now scored in double figures in a career-tying best five straight games, averaging a team-high 15.0 points in 29.8 minutes (Jan. 30-Feb. 13).
Overall this season, she is contributing 10.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals in 29.9 minutes per game.
Breanna Mobley / Western Michigan / Forward
Fr. / Lansing, Mich. / Lansing Waverly
Mobley helped fuel two Broncos second half comebacks this week with back-to-back double-double performances. She had the best game of her young career with WMU on the road at Bowling Green, where the Broncos were able to outscore the Falcons 24-10 in the fourth quarter en route to a 65-49 win. Mobley recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds while also dishing out a career-high five assists. Five of Mobley’s rebounds came on the offensive end, where she has made a living this season. She also set a new career-high with 34 minutes played.
Against Akron, WMU pulled off a 13-point fourth quarter comeback behind Mobley second career double-double and second consecutive. Mobley finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds while adding two steals and a block. The Broncos outscored the Zips 27-10 in the fourth quarter behind a tough defense that held Akron to 2-for-11 shooting in the quarter. Mobley tied a career-high with 34 minutes played against the Zips. Mobley’s solid play as of late has helped her secure a spot in the top-10 in offensive rebounding and blocks in the MAC.
