OVC/MVC Women’s Weekly Stars

Belmont’s Jones the Only New Winner

(St. Louis, MO) – Women’s weekly stars for the Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conferences were all repeaters, except for Belmont’s Tuti Jones. As the season progresses we see many familiar names building on their season-long successes. Each league’s title race is amazingly tight. Three OVC teams are tied for first place and three Valley squads are tied for second, one-game out of first.

Players of the Week

Western Illinois sophomore Raegan McCowan may be the best unknown player in America. The 5’11 guard earned her second Ohio Valley Conference ‘Player of the Week’ award. Against Eastern Illinois, McCowan scored 23 points and grabbed eight boards. McCowan is averaging over 20 points and eight rebounds over the entirety of her two year career. The Lebanon, Missouri native has already accumulated over 1,000 points and 400 rebounds.

Belmont graduate guard Tuti Jones continues her dynamic Missouri Valley Conference career, but for this season, she just earned her first ‘Player of the Week’ award. Jones racked up a career-high 29 points during the Bruins’ rivalry win over Murray State. During that game, Jones eclipsed the 500 mark in rebounds and 350 level in assists. She has tallied 1,289 career points. Jones is one of the Valley’s ‘generational players‘.

Newcomer Weekly Stars

McCowan’s teammate Mia Nicastro earned her OVC-leading fifth ‘Newcomer of the Week’ award. During Leathernecks’ win over EIU Nicastro scored twenty points and then recorded a double-double against Southern Illinois Edwardsville, scoring 23 points and nabbing ten boards.

Illinois State’s Addison Martin helped spark the Redbirds into a three-way tie for second place in the Valley. The 6’1 junior averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Martin moves into a tie with Evansville’s Gift Uchenna with three ‘Newcomer of the Week’ awards. The Redbirds have won five straight games.

Freshman Stars

Morehead State’s Chrishawn Coleman picked up her third ‘Freshman of the Week’ honor. One of five repeating weekly stars, Coleman blew out the competition by scoring 37 points against Tennessee Tech and eleven against Southern Indiana. Tennessee State’s Somah Kamara has earned four ‘Freshman’ nods.

Missouri State’s Lanie Douglas has claimed her second straight MVC ‘Freshman of the Week’ award. The 6’3 forward racked up a career high 17 points against Bradley. The Lady Bears, Murray State and Illinois State have identical 8-2 records and trail Belmont (9-1) by one game.

Do Good

Editor: Cover photo of Raegan McCowan, courtesy of goleathernecks.com.