UPCOMING SCHEDULE
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21
Murray State at Florida - 12 p.m. (SEC Network+)
UT Southern at
Austin Peay - 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
UT Martin vs. Bowling Green (@Las Vegas) - 7 p.m. (FloSports)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22
Arkansas State at
SIUE - 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23
Eastern Illinois at Wisconsin - 12 p.m.
*OVC Game
All Times Central
OVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK – December 21
PLAYER
Yamia Johnson, G • Sr. 5-11 • Lexington, S.C. • Austin Peay
Johnson led Austin Peay to a pair of wins with 17 points at UNC Asheville and a season-best 25 at Gardner-Webb. She recorded three three-pointers, six rebounds and an assist at UNCA. She followed that up by going a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range while recording a season-high nine rebounds, two assist, two blocks and a steal at Gardner-Webb. She has now scored in double-figures in all nine games this season
Others Nominated: Jada Claude, Morehead State; Katelyn Young, Murray State; Shymaryia Christopher, Southeast Missouri; Mikayla Kinnard, SIUE; Peyton Carter, Tennessee Tech
NEWCOMER
Jada Claude, F • So, 6-0 • Fayetteville, Ga. • Morehead State
Claude led the team in both scoring and rebounds last week with 15.0 points and 9.6 rebounds each time out. She recorded her first two double-doubles of her career last week. She had 21 points and 18 rebounds against USC Upstate and followed that up with 16 points and 10 boards against Valparaiso. She shot 57.5 percent from the floor and had three steals over the three games.
Others Nominated: Liz Gibbs, Austin Peay; Gabby Nikitinaite, SIUE
FRESHMAN
Tessa Miller, F • Fr., 6-2 • Crossville, Tenn. • Belmont
Miller scored a season-high 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench against Auburn last week. She led all Belmont scorers while also grabbing 10 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double. She tied her season-high with three assist and also had one block.
Others Nominated: Lyric Cole, Austin Peay; Shymaryia Christopher, Southeast Missouri; Gia Adams, Tennessee State; Harley Paynter, Tennessee Tech
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE
Let the Season Begin: The 2021-22 regular-season begins on Nov. 9 with Conference play beginning on Dec. 29. The OVC Championship will take place March 2-5 in Evansville, Ind.
OVC on ESPN+: For the fourth year, the Ohio Valley Conference will have a minimum of 600 conference events on ESPN+. ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App. Already the leading sports app, the new ESPN App is the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans across mobile and tv-connected devices. ESPN+ is also available through ESPN.com.
2020-21 in Review: UT Martin earned the 2020-21 OVC regular season title while Belmont win its fifth OVC Tournament title last season. The Bruins were the two seed in the OVC Tourney and defeated No. 1 UT Martin, 83-75, in the Championship. Belmont earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while UT Martin the WNIT automatic bid. The Bruins defeated Gonzaga in the NCAA First Round becoming the first OVC team since 1991 to win an NCAA Tournament Game. Belmont would fall to Indiana in the second round. UT Martin became the first team in program history to record two wins in a single postseason. The Skyhawks made it to the consolation regional finals of the WNIT, defeating Illinois State. UT Martin's Kevin McMillan was named the OVC Coach of the Year after leading his team to the OVC regular season championship. The Skyhawks Chelsey Perry was named the OVC Player of the Year for the second straight year. Belmont's Destinee Wells earned Freshman of the Year honors.
OVC Championship Returns to Evansville: The Ohio Valley Conference returns to the Ford Center in Evansville for the fifth-straight year. The 2022 OVC Basketball Championships will be held March 2-5.
Regular Season Champions: With UT Martin earning the regular-season crow last year, 10 different teams have won a regular-season crown. Morehead State and SIUE are the only current members that have not won a regular-season title.
Coaching Experience: UT Martin's Kevin McMillan is the longest tenured coach in the OVC as he enters his 13th season at the helm of the Skyhawks. He currently ranks third in OVC history with 218 wins and first among active coaches. He has had eight 20-win seasons at UT Martin and has made the conference tournament in each of his 12 years.
OVC on ESPNU: The SIUE at Tennessee Tech match up on January 20 will be on ESPNU at 4 p.m. CT.
New Faces: Three Ohio Valley Conference teams will have new head coaches this year. Austin Peay will be under the new direction of Brittany Young who comes to APSU after spending a season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Mississippi State. Cayla Petree joins the Morehead State program after spending last season at Gulf Coast State College. Samantha Quigley Smith became the sixth head coach in program history after spending the last four season as the head coach at Lewis University.
Wells on the Watch List: Belmont's Destinee Wells, who was named to the 2021-22 OVC Preseason Player of the Year, has been named to the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award preseason watch list.
Belmont Receiving Vote: Belmont is receiving votes in both the USA Today Sports/WBCA Top 25 poll and the AP Top 25 Women's Basketball Preseason poll. It marked the first time the Bruins have received votes in the USA Today Sports/WBCA Top 25 while it was the third time the appeared in the AP Top 25. In the first regular season USA Today Sports/WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, Belmont received a vote.
New Tournament Format: The Women's bracket will switch from a traditional (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc.) format to a merit-based format that gives the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds double byes, the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds single byes and matches up No. 5/8 and No. 6/7 in the first round. The women’s basketball teams previously used this format from 2011-14 and the OVC men’s basketball teams have been using the format since 2011.
Big OVC Wins: SIUE has picked up wins over teams from the Big Ten and the Big East as they have defeated Illinois and Butler. Belmont defeated SEC foe Ole Miss.
OVC Teams in the Polls: In last week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, Belmont was 11th while UT Martin was receiving votes.