League play in the Big Sky Conference began with a bang last weekend, as six different Big Sky teams are undefeated after one weekend.
Several teams are in a position to put themselves in prime position for high seeds early in the season, while other teams are fighting to move upwards in the conference standings.
Preseason favorite Montana, Montana State, Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Weber State are all undefeated, thanks to several marquee performances by a few individual student-athletes.
For her efforts in leading the Lady Griz to wins over Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, Montana forward Kayleigh Valley is this week’s Big Sky women’s basketball Player of the Week.
Valley averaged 28 points and 7.5 rebounds as Montana opened Big Sky Conference with two home wins. In Thursday’s 81-58 victory over the Lumberjacks, Valley matched her career high with 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
In Saturday’s 66-60 win over the Thunderbirds, she had 27 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for her first career double-double. Valley also matched a career high with three blocks.
Eastern Washington’s Delaney Hodgins also had a strong weekend to help the Eagles to wins over North Dakota and Northern Colorado.
Hodgins averaged 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in Eastern Washington’s victories over Northern Colorado and North Dakota. She set a new career high with 22 points against UNC on Thursday, Dec. 31, going 8-of-13 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Hodgins poured in a game-high 21 points to finish with a double-double, adding three blocks, two assists and two steals against the Fighting Hawks Saturday.
Weber State’s Regina Okoye played a strong role in the Wildcats’ road win over Idaho State. Okoye had the game high of 17 points and eight rebounds. She also had four steals. This is the ninth game where Okoye has scored in double figures this season, as she’s averaged 20.2 points in the last five games.
Other nominees included: Anna Policicchio, Idaho State; Adella Randle-El, Sacramento State; Geri McCorkell, Idaho; Rene Coggins, Northern Arizona; Jessica Richardson, Southern Utah; Kourtenay Zadina, Northern Colorado; and Riley Nordgaard, Montana State.
