Ohio Valley Conference

Saunders tallied 19.0 points/game on a blistering 14-21 (.667) overall and 10-14 (.714) from three-point land. The sophomore also dished out 7.0 assists/game. She started the week at UT Martin with 20 points, her best in a USI uniform. In the effort, Saunders caught fire from beyond the arc, tying a USI season best with six three-pointers. Her last triple with 30 seconds left sealed the win for the Screaming Eagles. The guard also had six assists, five rebounds, and a pair of steals. On Saturday, Saunders totaled 18 points and set a new career high with eight assists in the win over Little Rock.

Others Nominated: Taris Thornton, Eastern Illinois; Katie Kovak, Morehead State; Zyion Shannon, Tennessee State; Maaliya Owens, Tennessee Tech; Anaya Brown, UT Martin; Raegan McCowan, Western Illinois.

NEWCOMER
Ali Saunders, G • 5-10 • So. • Depauw, Ind. • Southern Indiana
Saunders tallied 19.0 points/game on a blistering 14-21 (.667) overall and 10-14 (.714) from three-point land. The sophomore also dished out 7.0 assists/game. She started the week at UT Martin with 20 points, her best in a USI uniform. In the effort, Saunders caught fire from beyond the arc, tying a USI season best with six three-pointers. Her last triple with 30 seconds left sealed the win for the Screaming Eagles. The guard also had six assists, five rebounds, and a pair of steals. On Saturday, Saunders totaled 18 points and set a new career high with eight assists in the win over Little Rock.
 
Others Nominated: Charita “Tiny” Lewis, Eastern Illinois; Justus Odom, Lindenwood; Blessing King, Morehead State; Sanaa’ St. Andre, Tennessee State.

FRESHMAN
Chloe Gannon, F • 6-2 • Fr. • Manchester, Tenn. • Southern Indiana
Gannon averaged 16.5 points, finding the bottom of the net at a rate of 63 percent. The freshman recorded eight rebounds/game and registered three blocked shots. In her second start of the season, Gannon posted her first career double-double with 17 points and a career high 12 boards at UT Martin. She also had two blocks and two steals. In Saturday’s win at Little Rock, Gannon collected 16 points on 7-of-9 (.778) shooting. The forward pulled down four rebounds.

Others Nominated: Sydney-James Desroches, Eastern Illinois; Ellie Brueggemann, Lindenwood; Katie Kovak, Morehead State; Ava Stoller, SIU; Kenley McCarn, UT Martin; Raegan McCowan, Western Illinois.
 
 
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
• Anaya Brown (F, So.), UT Martin. Scored 18.0 points in both contests last week while averaging 8.5 rebounds/game. Shot 58.3 percent from the field, cashing 78 percent from the free throw line. Registered five blocks and four steals.

• Raegan McCowan (G, Fr.), Western Illinois. Averaged 18.5 points on the road for the week. Brought down 13 rebounds, five coming on the offensive glass. Shot an efficient 40 percent from the field and 84 percent from the free throw line.

• Justus Odom (C, Jr.), Lindenwood. Has scored in double figures in six consecutive games. Dropped a career-high 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting at EIU. Added a career-high four steals against the Panthers. Pulled down six boards/game, while shooting 12-of 13 from the line.

• Blessing King (G, So.), Morehead State. Posted two monster performances on the boards this week. Had 11 rebounds at Little Rock to go with six points, two steals and two blocks. Finished with 16 rebounds, eight points, three steals and three blocks at UTM. Has notched five straight double-digit rebounding games.

• Zyion Shannon (G, So.), Tennessee State. Recorded two 19-plus point games, finishing with 19 at TTU and 26 against WIU. Posted five assists and two steals in Saturday’s win.

• Ellie Brueggemann (G, Fr.), Lindenwood. Averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists/game. Made 8-of-17 from three-point land, shooting better than 47 percent.

• Katie Kovak (G, Fr.), Morehead State. Went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc in a comeback victory at Little Rock, pouring in 13 points to go along with two rebounds, an assist, and a block. Posted 19 points and hit a career best five triples, with four assists and three rebounds at UTM.

Notes From Around the League

OVC Highlights: Southern Indiana earned two road wins to improve to 13-1 in the OVC; the Screaming Eagles became have claimed a share of the OVC regular season title and has secured the top spot at the OVC tournament via advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker over second place Eastern Illinois… Tennessee State has played five overtime games this season, including a double overtime game this week at Lindenwood (2/8)… TSU is the lone squad to gain a win over USI… TSU ranks 6th in the nation in forced turnovers/game (22.04)… Western Illinois converted 35 free throws in its win over TSU (1/20); the total is the seventh highest total in the NCAA this season… on the year, the Leathernecks are averaging 15.76 free throws/game, which is 16th in the NCAA… SIUE ranks 29th at 14.93… the Cougars are shooting 77.9 percent from the charity stripe, good for 16th best in the country… Tennessee Tech is 41st at 76.7 and UT Martin is now 44th at 76.4… WIU continues as one of the top teams in Division I in multiple categories… the first-year OVC program is 19th in defensive rebounds/game (29.2), 36th in rebounds/game (40.96), and 38th in rebound margin (6.1)… TTU is the top team in the OVC in bench scoring and ranked 43rd in the country at 23.8 points/game… the Golden Eagles are also 31st in the country with 17.0 assists/game… Morehead State continues to excel in offensive rebounds/game ranking 36th at 14.2… Lindenwood received double-digit scoring from seven different players in its 99-54 win over Harris-Stowe (12/11); the Lions almost matched the feat as six Lions scored in double digits against TSU (2/8)… SIUE and TSU had six players reach double digits during the final week of non-conference play… WIU opened the season going 10-2, matching the programs 2017-18 squad for the third best start in program history at 10-2… USI hosted Big-12 opponent Cincinnati (12/17); the Bearcats are the first-ever major conference opponent to visit Screaming Eagles Arena.

Top Performers: Makayla Wallace produced seven steals in Lindenwood’s win over TSU (2/8), matching the Lady Tigers’ Saniah Parker for the OVC’s top mark of the season… MSU’s Veronica Charles recorded nine steals on the week to become the OVC’s new leader in steals with 66… Charles has registered a swipe in 25 of her 26 games this season… Wallace has notched a steal in each of the Lions 24 games this year and trails Charles at 64… SEMO’s Kiyley Flowers has tallied a steal in each of the 24 games she has played this season, one shy of the Redhawks total of 25, and is third in the conference with 63 steals… Nationally, Charles ranks 22nd, Wallace 27th and Flowers 28th… EIU’s Macy McGlone earned another double-double to bring her season total to 21, ranking 2nd in the nation, four behind BYU’s Lauren Gustin… McGlone is the third player in known OVC history to eclipse 20 double-doubles in a season… Belmont’s Ellie Harmeyer led the nation with 23 during the 2019-20 campaign, while Tennessee Tech’s Cheryl Taylor accomplished the mark four times during her career… the OVC Hall of Famer registered 30 during the 1985-86 season, 24 in 1984-85, and 23 in each of the 1983-84 and 1986-87 seasons… McGlone also ranks second in the country with 322 total rebounds, trailing Gustin (417)… McGlone ranks in the top 50 in multiple categories, including rebounds/game (3rd, 11.9), defensive rebounds (12th, 7.7), field goals (18th, 197), blocks (23rd, 51), blocks/game (34th, 1.89), and offensive rebounds/game (12th, 4.2)… McGlone recorded seven blocked shots at MSU (2/10) which is the 15th best amount in NCAA Division I… UTM’s Anaya Brown earned a career-high 20 rebounds versus Southeast Missouri (1/25)… the total marked the first 20-rebound performance by a Skyhawk since the 2008-09 season and ranks in a tie for the 21st most nationally in 2023-24… three other OVC players who are amongst the nation’s best this year with individual performances… WIU’s Anna Deets converted on 17-of-18 free throws versus TSU (1/20); the 17 made in a game is tied for fifth in the NCAA this season… TSU’s Sanaa’ St. Andre scored 37 points versus TTU (1/18), the tally is the most by an OVC player this season and is tied for 26th across the country… LR’s Jaiyah Harris-Smith registered the 4th most assists in a game with 15 at Tulane (12/20)… TTU’s Peyton Carter is producing a 2.67 assist/turnover ratio which is 16th in the NCAA, while Little Rock’s Jaiyah Harris-Smith is 25th at 2.46… EIU’s Miah Monahan ranks 33rd nationally with 133 assists… WIU’s Raegan McCowan is second in the OVC with 458 points… the freshman is 31st in the nation with 178 field goals and is 45th averaging 18.3 points/game… TTU’s Maaliya Owens is 8th in the nation in free throw percentage at 91.3… Owens ranks 11th in three-pointers (75) while EIU’s Ellie Buzzelle is 27th with 65… Owens is 9th averaging 3.00 three-pointers/game… Blessing King of Morehead State ranks 6th nationally averaging 4.8 per game… King is 18th in the country with 255 rebounds and 22nd in rebounds/game with 10.2… four players from the OVC are in the top 50 nationally for minutes/game; Kenley McCarn of UTM leads the way at 6th with 37.45 and is followed by Monahan (16th, 36.61), UTM’s Lexi Rubel (25th, 35.98) and McGlone (47th, 35.11).