Skye Johnson found herself all over the court for Bradley on Saturday, running an efficient offense and exhibiting the defensive prowess that earned her MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors last season in a 71-53 win over Illinois at the United Center in Chicago.  The junior equaled the Valley’s season-best with her nine assists and nabbed four steals and blocked four shots to go along with her 13 points and three rebounds for the 6-1 Braves.  Missouri State’s Casey Garrison stood out for the Lady Bears, scoring a career-best 33 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against Western Kentucky in MSU’s near-upset.  For the week, Garrison averaged 26 points, 9.5 rebounds and three assist.  For their efforts Johnson and Garrison have been tabbed as MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week, respectively.

State Farm MVC Player of the Week

Skye Johnson, Bradley

Johnson turned in one of the best all-around performances of her career, helping BU to a 71-53 victory against in-state foe Illinois Saturday at the United Center.  Johnson, who had just one turnover in the game, had 13 points and matched a career-best nine assists against the Illini.  She also collected four steals and recorded a career-high four blocked shots.  Johnson had five points, two boards, five assists, three blocks and three steals in the first half, helping Bradley to a 40-27 lead at the break.  The win snapped Illinois’ five-game win streak in games played at the United Center and was the Illini’s worst loss in 10 games played at the facility.  Johnson leads the Braves in assists, steals and blocks, ranking in the top five in the MVC in each category and her 14 blocked shots on the year are three short of her total from 2007-08. 

State Farm MVC Newcomer of the Week

Casey Garrison, Missouri State

Garrison once again powered the Missouri State attack, averaging team highs of 26.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.0 steals, 1.0 block in losses to Green Bay and Western Kentucky this past week. The Bolivar, Mo., product’s 33-point performance Sunday in MSU’s near-upset of Western Kentucky represented the second-highest point total in school history for a Lady Bear freshman. Garrison played a career-best 37 minutes and went 11-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 from the foul line. She also handed out four assists, registered three steals and grabbed 11 boards versus the Lady Toppers to record her first career double-double in the 77-70 loss. That effort followed a 19-point, eight-rebound showing at Green Bay Wednesday in which she was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Noteworthy...In addition to the league's player and newcomer of the week selections, several conference players had notable performances, and they include:

• Kristin Turk, Drake -Turk recorded her first career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Drake's 64-47 win over Coppin State Dec. 12. She followed that with a career high 21 points in the Bulldog's 63-48 win at Weber State. Turk, who averages a team-leading 14.3 points per game, has led Drake in scoring five times this season.
• Robyn Jennings, Evansville - Senior forward Robyn Jennings paced the Evansville attack this week with averages of 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 66.7 percent shooting from the floor in a pair of games against in-state rivals Butler and Ball State.  Jennings began the week by narrowly missing her third consecutive double-double with nine points and nine rebounds in UE’s contest against Butler.  She then exploded for a career-high 24 points, and added seven rebounds, at Ball State on Friday night.  Jennings went a career-best 11-for-16 from the field against the Cardinals, including knocking down a game-tying three-pointer with 29 seconds left in regulation to help the Purple Aces force overtime. For the week, Jennings went 14-for-21 from the field (66.7 percent), including 2-of-4 from three-point range (50.0 percent).  She also knocked down all three free throws she attempted, while dishing out three assists and registering a blocked shot in UE’s two contests.
• Kristi Cirone, Illinois State -Kristi Cirone averaged 15.5 points and 6.5 assists per game in two ISU win. She scored 17 points in an 80-49 win over Western Illinois to move into third place on the ISU scoring list. Cirone had 14 points, eight assists, six steals and four rebounds in ISU’s 83-47 win over Eastern Michigan Saturday. Cirone’s six steals were a season-high and gave her more than 200 steals in her career. She also became the third player in Illinois State history to surpass 1,600-career points.
• Kelsie Cooley, Indiana State - Sophomore center Kelsie Cooley averaged 10.7 points per game this week, hitting 13-of-28 shots from the field (46.4 percent), plus was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line in a narrow home loss to Arkansas State as well as in the Big Easy Classic. Cooley paced the team with 22 rebounds during the week, an average of 7.3 caroms per contest. She added three blocked shots and five steals over the three-game stretch. Cooley posted her first career-double against Arkansas State, with 12 points and 10 rebounds while she scored a career-high 16 points in a hard-fought battle at Tulane. Versus the Green Wave, Cooley connected on 8-of-12 shots from the field.
• Alexa Mennen, UNI - Alexa Mennen shot 7-of-9 (78 percent) from the floor to finish with 9.0 points per game in UNI’s two contests last week. She also led UNI with 5.5 rebounds per game. Mennen finished 4-of-4 from the floor for 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds against Northern Illinois on Wednesday. Against Green Bay, she notched two blocks and two steals to go with seven points and five boards. Mennen is averaging 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game this season.
• Erica Smith, Southern Illinois - Southern Illinois’ Erica Smith recorded 11 points and six boards adding an assist and two steals against DePaul Friday. The senior guard shot 27 percent from the field (3-of-11) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (4-of-6).
• Michelle Lund, Bradley - Freshman Michelle Lund had eight points, three rebounds and two assists in Bradley’s 71-53 win against Illinois.  Lund did not take part in the team shootaround that morning due to flu-like symptoms, but played a key role in helping Bradley build an early double digit lead against the Illini.  She knocked down a pair of three-pointers and dished out an assist in the first 2:52 of the game to help spark a 14-3 Bradley run to open the contest.  Lund played 25 minutes in the game, shooting 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.
• Rachael Hackbarth, Drake - Hackbarth scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in Drake's 64-47 win over Coppin State Dec. 12. In the 63-48 win over Weber State she had eight points and three rebounds.
• Katie Broadway, Illinois State - Katie Broadway averaged 10.0 points per game in two ISU wins, the best two-game stretch of her career. She had seven points, including her first-career three, in an 80-49 win over Western Illinois. Broadway scored a career-high 13 points in ISU’s 83-47 win over Eastern Michigan Saturday. Broadway was 4-for-9 from the field, including three three-pointers, and made a pair of free throws, all career-best marks. She also had a career-best 5 rebounds.
• Deja Mattox, Indiana State - Freshman Deja Mattox averaged 7.3 points and was 11-of-13 from the free throw line this week for Indiana State. Mattox dished out five assists and averaged 5.0 rebounds per game. Mattox scored a career-high with 14 points against Arkansas State.
• Indy Uhlenhopp, UNI - Indy Uhlenhopp moved into the starting lineup for the first time, earning a place in the starting five in both of UNI’s games this week. She averaged 6.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in those contests. Against Green Bay, she finished with seven points and three rebounds, along with an assist and a steal.