Dillard Repeats as MAC WBB Athlete of the Week
East Division
Cierra Dillard, Buffalo, Guard
Senior – Rochester, NY/Gates Chili
Cierra Dillard averaged 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 5.5 steals in wins over Georgetown and South Dakota State at the Southpoint Shootout in Las Vegas. Against the Hoyas, Dillard posted a season-high 33 points on 8-of-15 shooting, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line. She also added six rebounds, eight assists and five steals against Georgetown. The next night, she scored 20 points and added nine rebounds and six steals, both season highs, against South Dakota State.
West Division
Reyna Frost, Central Michigan, Forward
Senior – Reese, Michigan/Reese
The senior forward had a memorable week for the Chippewas as she helped lead CMU to wins over UCF, Virginia and Chattanooga while averaging 16.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.6 steals while shooting 54.8 (23-of-42) percent from the field. In a hard-fought 75-68 win over the Knights at home Wednesday evening, Frost posted a season-high 24 points and 11 rebounds en route to her third double-double of the season. On Saturday's 74-61 win over host Virginia at the Cavalier Classic, Frost added another double-double performance finishing with 16 points and 10 boards while shooting 57.1 (8-of-14) from the field. Also, on Saturday, Frost set the record as the all-time leader in career rebounds surpassing Crystal Bradford's mark (1,140) which was set from 2011-2015. On Sunday's commanding 73-50 win over Chattanooga, Frost chipped in with 10 points and eight boards as the Chippewas won the Cavalier Classic.
Other Nominees:
Oshlynn Brown, Ball State, Forward
Sophomore – Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe
Brown opened play against Fordham in the first game of the Gulf Coast Showcase leading the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding. Brown scored 12 points while pulling down 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of her career. She then had her second double-digit rebounding performance against Duke helping the Cardinals to the program’s best performance against the Blue Devils. Brown then finished the week with an 18-point showing Sunday against Quinnipiac.
Gabby Burris, Ohio, Forward
Sophomore – Baltimore, Ohio/Liberty Union
Sophomore forward Gabby Burris (Baltimore, Ohio) helped the Ohio women's basketball team (5-0) start a season 5-0 for the third time in the last five years, averaging a team-high 21.5 points per game and ranking second on the squad with 7.0 rebounds per game as the Bobcats went 2-0 at the Denver Thanksgiving Classic last weekend. She finished the weekend shooting 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from the floor and 92.9 percent (13-of-14) from the free throw line. Burris went 5-of-9 from the floor with a pair of triples and made all six of her free throw attempts to tally 18 points as Ohio knocked off St. Bonaventure, 70-53, on Friday (Nov. 23). On Saturday (Nov. 24) in a 87-62 victory over Lamar, Burris achieved her first career double-double with a career-high 25 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. She went 8-of-15 from the field with two three-pointers and sank seven of her eight free throw attempts in the win over the Cardinals, matching her career high for field goals made and setting a new career high for free throws made. Burris also added two assists and a block.
Corrione Cardwell, Eastern Michigan, Guard
R-Sophomore – Cleveland, Ohio/New Tech East
Redshirt sophomore Corrione Cardwell did it all for the Eastern Michigan women's basketball team against Preseason WNIT Champion Iowa State, Nov. 21. Cardwell went off for a career-best and game-high 25 points on 11-of-23 shooting, including a pair of triples, to lead all Eagles. Cardwell stuffed the box score adding seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals to her stat line. Cardwell's three swipes led an EMU defensive showing that forced Iowa State into 22 turnovers, the most miscues by the Cyclones since their 2017 season opener. Additionally, Cardwell has scored more points against the Iowa State than any player this season, as she is the only player to eclipse the 20-point mark against ISU this year.
Megan Carter, Kent State, Guard
R-Junior – Farmington Hills, Michigan/North Farmington
Megan Carter scored a game-high 20 points to lead Kent State to a dominant 62-34 victory over previously-unbeaten Youngstown State on Tuesday. The Golden Flashes were +30 with Carter on the floor, as the redshirt junior matched her career-high with 7 rebounds and added 3 assists. She held Preseason All-Horizon League selection Chelsea Olson to only 2 points on 1-for-7 shooting to lead a stifling Kent State defense that held YSU without a field goal for the entire third period.
Savannah Kluesner, Miami, Forward
Junior – St. Charles, Mo./Lutheran
One game after junior forward Savannah Kluesner had a career-high game in points, Kluesner recorded Miami's first double-double of the season. In a very physical game against High Point, she put up 14 points and 11 rebounds - leading Miami in rebounds as she continues to have a presence under the basket. Kluesner was a big part of the RedHawks' 32 points in the paint in a game that included 10 lead changes and six ties. Kluesner leads Miami in field goals, free throws, rebounds and is tied for the lead in points and points per game.
Morgan McMillen, Bowling Green, Guard
Freshman – Berlin, Ohio/Hiland
Bowling Green freshman guard Morgan McMillen averaged 20.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last week. She shot 48.6% from the floor in the Falcons' three games and went 11-for-26 from three-point range (42.3%). McMillen scored a game-high 25 points in BGSU's win over Loyola Chicago, hitting six field goals and going 12-of-13 at the free-throw line. She played all 40 minutes of the Falcons' narrow 81-80 loss at Coastal Carolina, hitting five three-pointers en route to 15 points, and also pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out three assists. On Sunday, McMillen scored 22 points, again making five three-pointers, and added seven rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals against Mercer, a 30-win team a year ago. On the season, McMillen is averaging a BG-best 20.7 points per game, and she has hit 25 three-pointers, an average of more than four per contest. She has scored in double figures in each of the first six games of her collegiate career.
Mikayla Voigt, Northern Illinois, Guard
Senior – Slinger, Wisconsin/Kettle Moraine Lutheran
Voigt led NIU with 15 points at Indiana on Sunday. The senior scored 13 points in the first half, including eight straight at the end of the first quarter, to give NIU a 42-41 halftime lead. Voigt tied a season-high with three three-pointers.
