Below are the Reaching the Summit Women’s Basketball Players of the Week. Our voters selected a senior, junior, sophomore, and freshman student-athlete they thought deserved this weekly award. Enjoy!
SENIOR OF THE WEEK: Liv Korngable, South Dakota (@Liv_Korn)
I’m sure it had nothing to do with us having Liv on our Second Team preseason rankings, but Korngable had herself an outstanding start to the season. On Tuesday’s season opening loss against Oklahoma down in Vermillion, Liv dropped a game-high 22 points (9-15 FG) and dished out 6 assists. It was her game-tying 3-pointer with 14 seconds to go that rocked the SCSC though. On Friday, against the nation’s top team, Liv tied a career-high with 24 points in USD’s loss to South Carolina. She shot 8-15 from the field, including 8-11 from the charity stripe.
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: none
JUNIOR OF THE WEEK: Uju Ezeudu, Denver
Ezeudu had a fantastic start to the season on Tuesday night, despite the loss at Air Force. The junior from Reynoldsburg, Ohio led the Pioneers with 19 points and nine rebounds. Friday’s matchup against Missouri S&T provided a great opportunity for Ezeudu to shine again; and she did not disappoint. She finished with 17 points AND 17 rebounds for her eighth career double double and 36th game in which she has scored in double figures as a Denver Pioneer. Her 17 rebounds is tied for fifth in Denver’s D-1 history single-game chart.
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Ryan Cobbins, North Dakota State
SOPHOMORE OF THE WEEK: Tori Nelson, South Dakota State (@nelsontori9)
The voters were pretty split between Tori Nelson and Mallory McDermott from Western Illinois, but the nod went to the sophomore Jackrabbit. Nelson finished Tuesday’s game against Green Bay with seven points, four rebounds, and two assists. She followed that performance with an impressive 11 points, six rebounds game against Mississippi State on Friday.
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Mallory McDermott, Western Illinois
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Paige Meyer, South Dakota State (@paige_meyer2)
Our first freshman of the week winner became the first freshman to start for SDSU in a season opener since Myah Selland in the 2017-18 season opener. The Albany, MN native played an efficient 20 minutes, finishing with six points, six rebounds, and four assists. The next matchup was against Mississippi State on Friday. It was this game that put her ahead of the other freshmen nominee this week. Meyer finished with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-7 from the three-point-line. Additionally, she added three assists.
ALSO RECEVING VOTES: Jodi Anderson, North Dakota
Check out our week 1 power rankings: HERE