MAC Women's Basketball Players of the Week Announced
MAC East Player of the Week:
Stephanie Reid / Buffalo / Guard
So. / Melbourne, VIC, Australia / The Peninsula School
Sophomore point guard Stephanie Reid had her best week of the season as she helped lead the Bulls to a pair of crucial MAC victories over Bowling Green and first-place Ohio. The sophomore finished the week averaging 17.5 points, 7.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the two wins, improving UB’s record to 15-12 overall and 7-9 in MAC play. Reid was the Bulls floor general all week long as she was able to net a team-high 14 points to go along with six assists, four rebounds and two steals on Wednesday as UB downed Bowling Green 55-52, talking a one game lead over the Falcons for the eight seed in the upcoming MAC tournament. Reid scored the game-tying layup with under two minutes to play and then iced the game with four seconds remaining with a free throw. On Saturday, Reid had the best game of her career as the Bulls pulled off the season sweep of the MAC’s best team, Ohio. Reid was all over the floor as she nearly netted the programs first triple-double. The nifty point guard finished the game with a game-high 21 points, her third game with 20+ points, to go along with tying a career-high with eight assists, snagging seven boards and snatching three steals. Reid played 76 of a possible 80 minutes this week including all 40 in UB’s upset of Ohio on the road on Saturday. On the year, Reid is averaging 10.6 points, 4.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. With her eight assists on Saturday, Reid now ranks 10th all-time in assists in a single season in program history with 130.
MAC West Player of the Week:
Ally Lehman / Northern Illinois / Guard
Jr. / Nineveh, Ind. / Indian Creek
Ally Lehman scored 41 points at Western Michigan Wednesday night, tying the NIU record for points in a game, as she scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to will the Huskies to an 80-70 win in Kalamazoo. Her performance was the highest total by a player in a MAC game this season. It was the fourth 40-point game in NIU history. Lehman also pulled down 12 rebounds to record her 13th double-double.
The Nineveh, Ind., native nearly followed it up with a triple-double against Toledo on Saturday as she registered 18 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists against the Rockets. Her 10-point performance in the fourth quarter rallied NIU to 24 points to overcome a 12-point deficit in the final nine minutes, hitting the game-tying shot with 8.6 seconds left in regulation force overtime at the Convocation Center.
Her double-double against Toledo was her 14th of the season, putting her at 306 rebounds this season to become just the fifth Huskie to record 300-plus rebounds in a season. She is 17 shy of setting NIU’s single season record.
Other Nominees:
Anita Brown / Akron / Guard
Sr. / Warren, Ohio / Warren Harding
Senior Anita Brown continued her stellar campaign leading the Zips to a pair of road victories averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game.
Brown scored a game-high 16 points, while pulling down six rebounds in a come-from-behind 65-62 overtime victory over Miami last Wednesday, Feb. 24.
She followed with a 16-point, six-rebound, five-steal performance versus Kent State on Saturday, Feb. 27. The win allowed Akron’s senior class to become the first in program history to go 8-0 against the Golden Flashes during their career.
On the season, Brown is averaging a team-best 21.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Lauren Tibbs / Bowling Green / Center
5-Sr. / Taylor Mill, Ky. / Scott
Bowling Green senior center Lauren Tibbs led the Falcons in scoring and rebounding as BGSU split a pair of games last week. Tibbs averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game against Buffalo and Miami, shooting 56.5% from the field. She led the Falcons in scoring at Buffalo, with 18 points in a narrow 55-52 loss. Then, she paced a balanced BG attack with 13 points in her final regular-season home game, a 20-point win over Miami, tying for game honors with seven rebounds as well. On the season, Tibbs is averaging 12.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and she is tied for first in the MAC and ranks among the national leaders with a field-goal percentage of 57.7%. Tibbs is shooting 40.5% from beyond the arc (15-for-37). In MAC games only, Tibbs has 13.9 ppg and 6.9 rpg, and she is shooting 56.8% overall and an impressive 42.9% (12-for-28) from three-point range.
Kiyanna Black / Ohio / Guard
Sr. / Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Afrocentric
Ohio women’s basketball senior guard Kiyanna Black led Ohio offensively once again, leading the Bobcats to a 1-1 week.
On Feb. 24 against Kent State, Black scored 19 points, going 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range. She was also 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Black also grabbed four boards, dished out two assists and had two steals in the 86-52 victory.
On Feb. 27 against Buffalo, Black scored 13 points, going 3-of-12 from the field, 3-of-9 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. She also had one rebounds and one assist in the 70-58 set back against the Bulls. In the game, Black hit her 101 three-pointer of the season, setting a new MAC and program record for three-pointers made in a single season.
Overall on the week, Black score 32 points (16.0 per game), had five rebounds (2.5 per game), three assists (1.5 per game) and two steals (1.0 per game). She was 10-of-26 (.384) from the field, 7-of-18 (.388) from three-point range and 5-of-6 (.833) from the free throw line.
Moriah Monaco / Ball State / Forward
So. / Dover, Ohio / Dover
Monaco’s career best performance Saturday in a 67-63 win at Eastern Michigan helped the Cardinals clinch a first-round bye to the 2016 Mid-American Conference Tournament for the second straight season. Monaco scored a personal best 28 points against the Eagles off of 8-of-15 shooting from the 3-point line. The eight 3’s were a career best and tied for the second-highest single-game total in program history. EMU tied the game with 1:03 left in the contest but Monaco nailed her eighth three point basket of the day to give the lead back to Ball State and the Cardinals led the remainder of the game. Monaco also pulled down eight rebounds including six on the defensive side. On Wednesday, Monaco was the second highest scorer on the team with after having a 17-point performance. For the week Monaco averaged 22.5 points and five rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field. She also shot 50 percent from the 3-point line making 15 three’s for the week.
Cassie Breen / Central Michigan / Guard
So. / Woodhaven, Mich. / Woodhaven
Central Michigan’s Cassie Breen led the way for the Chippewas this weekend averaging 15.5 points per game to lead the Chippewas in a pair of wins over Ball State and Western Michigan. Breen led with a game-high 22 points in a 67-66 win over Ball State adding four rebounds and one assist. The sophomore made three triples and went a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. The Chippewas clinched at least a share of the MAC West title on Saturday in a road win over rival Western Michigan. Breen shot 60 percent from downtown (3-of-5), pulling down three boards and dishing out two assists.
Cha Sweeney / Eastern Michigan / Guard
Jr. / Toledo, Ohio / Rogers
Junior Cha Sweeney helped her team win its fifth consecutive game with a near double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds at Toledo, Feb. 23. The Eagles led by as many as 28 points on the night, with Sweeney also posting three assists and two steals in limited minutes. Then she followed it up with a 22-point performance against Ball State, Feb. 27, as Sweeney had two opportunities late to knot the score that ultimately fell off target. Over the course of the two games, the Toledo, Ohio native averaged 20.0 ppg, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals in 35.5 minutes of work.
Breanna Mobley / Western Michigan / Forward
Fr. / Lansing, Mich. / Lansing Waverly
Mobley, the freshman from Lansing, Mich., has established herself as one of the Broncos biggest weapons as of late. She had the biggest week of her young career, averaging 23 points and 14.5 rebounds while going 22-for-27 from the free-throw line and 12-for-20 from the floor.
Against Northern Illinois, Mobley finished with a career-high 26 points and grabbed a then career-high 13 rebounds with eight of them coming on the offensive glass. She went 12-for-14 from the free-throw line against the Huskies, setting a new career-high and also setting a new season-high for free throws made by any WMU player in a game this season. She came in shooting just .532 from the free-throw line, but found her shot in the past two games.
Against Central Michigan, Mobley led all scorers with 20 points and also grabbed a new career-high 16 rebounds with six coming on offense. 16 rebounds is the second highest rebounding total by any WMU player this season. She also tied a career-high with 36 minutes played against the MAC West leading Chippewas.
With Mobley’s huge month, she has brought herself to No. 5 in MAC rebounding at 7.8 per game and also No. 4 in offensive rebounding at 3.3 a game. She is just outside the top-10 at No. 12 in defensive rebounding at 4.5 a game.
