What's Up In The Missouri Valley: What's Up In The Missouri Valley 12/4/2024

OVC/MVC Men’s Weekly Stars--Valley Hoops Insider

Some Old Veterans Shine

(St. Louis, MO) – Old veterans Duke Deen and Kenny White Jr are two of the Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conference’s weekly stars. Deen is a Bradley senior and White a fifth year player for Morehead State.

Both veterans had explosive offensive performances. Three incoming transfers earned their first weekly awards.

Player of the Week Awards
Deen played one season at Troy and is playing in his third season with the Braves and is closing in on 1,000 points in the Bradley uniform. The 5’8 guard scored 23 points on a remarkable seven of eight long distance shooting performance and is the Valley’s ‘Player of the Week’. Bradley’s leading scorer is the MVC’s preseason ‘Player of the Year’.

Newcomer Weekly Stars
Dez White becomes Missouri State’s second MVC ‘Newcomer of the Week’ for averaging 18 points-per-game during the Bears’ MTE in the Cayman Islands. Vincent Brady took home the week two award. The former ASUN all-freshman team member has scored at least twelve points in each of Missouri State’s eight games.

Freshmen of the Week
Valparaiso split its two games and rookie All Wright scored 13 points in the win over Northern Illinois and ten during a loss at DePaul. Wright becomes the fourth different MVC freshman to be named ‘Freshman of the Week’.

During the first four weeks of the season, no Valley player has earned more than one weekly award.

These MVC weekly stars will get their first taste of league this week.

Unfolding Conference Season--Valley Hoops Insider

OVC/MVC Outstanding Women’s Performances--Valley Hoops Insider

UNI’s Laube Explodes

(St. Louis, MO) – Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley Conference basketball players produced some outstanding women’s performances. Northern Iowa’s Kayba Laube was breaking records and Tennessee State’s Somah Komara is pulling away from her competition.

While both leagues are under .500 during the nonconference season, both are gaining ground with each passing day.

Players of the Week

Kayba Laube broke Northern Iowa and Paradise Jam records. The 5’9 senior scored 34 points during the Panthers’ win over Pittsburgh. Her ten, three-point baskets were the record-breaking performance for her school and the tournament. This week’s MVC ‘Player of the Week’ is just the fifth Valley player to ever make ten triples in a single game.
Newcomers Outstanding Women’s Performances

Illinois State went 2-1 at the Gulf Coast Classic and Redbird guard Elyce Knudsen had a big hand in that success. The 5’8 grad student averaged 14.6 points during the Fort Myers-based tournament. This week’s Valley ‘Newcomer of the Week’ helped spark the Redbirds to their first two wins of the season.
Top Rookies

Knudsen isn’t the only Illinois State to be honored due to outstanding women’s performances. Freshman Doneelah Washington averaged 8.6 points, but had back-to-back double-digit scoring performances and is the Valley’s ‘Freshman of the Week.’