INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI and Milwaukee each earned a pair of wins in the opening week of the season while Green Bay earned a season-opening win over Drake as all three teams represent #HLWBB in this week’s College Insider Women’s Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
#HLWBB NEWS & NOTES
• In the first College Insider Women’s Mid-Major Top 25 poll of the regular season, IUPUI is ranked eighth while Green Bay checks in at No. 10 and Milwaukee enters the poll at No. 20.
• In a pair of Milwaukee victories, Brandi Bisping averaged a double-double of 16.5 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and 83.3 percent (15-for-18) from the free throw line. Bisping dominated the second half in the season opener, totaling 13 points and 8 rebounds and followed with a 20-point, 12-rebound performance on Saturday to lead MKE to a 65-60 win over Bradley. Additionally, Bisping added five assists in two steals in the opening weekend against teams that were predicted to return to the top of their respective conferences.
• Two-time reigning #HLWBB Player of the Year Macee Williams is off to a strong start for the 2-0 Jaguars as the senior is averaging 25.0 points and 10 rebounds through two road contests.
• Green Bay swept the first Nike #HLWBB weekly awards on Monday after a win over Drake. Green Bay’s Caitlyn Hibner is the Nike® #HLWBB Player of the Week after she posted 24 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. Jasmine Kondrakiewicz earned Nike® #HLWBB Freshman of the Week honors, scoring 15 points for GB in the home victory over the No. 13 ranked team in the College Insider Women’s Mid-Major Top 25 Preseason Poll.
• UIC’s Jaida McCloud has had an explosive start to her collegiate career, averaging 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in her first week. In her first game as a Flame, McCloud led all scorers with 19 points behind 7-of-12 shooting. The freshman also recorded seven rebounds, five assists and made three steals in her Flames premiere. On Sunday at Eastern Michigan, McCloud was once again in double digits with 14 points, while also tacking on eight rebounds and five steals to help the Flames to their first win of the season.
• Oakland’s Alona Blackwell averaged 15.0 points, shooting 11-for-23 (47.8%) from the field and 4-for-12 (33.3%) with four assists, four rebounds and a block for the Golden Grizzlies in the first week of play. She scored eight points with three assists, a block and steal against No. 25 Michigan. Blackwell then followed that performance pouring in a career-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 3-of-7 seven from three-point range while matching a career-best with four rebounds at Toledo.
• In her first action as a Titan, Webb led Detroit Mercy in scoring during the first week, averaging 19.5 points per game and shooting 45.8% from the floor and 50% from 3-point range. Webb scored a career-high 25 points against Indiana State on Sunday, hitting 6-of-9 attempts from deep and 7-of-13 shots overall, as the Titans came up just short in an 84-79 defeat. She began the season with 14 points, four steals and four assists in a season-opening setback against Xavier on Wednesday. Webb connected on seven 3-pointers overall over two games and sank all 10 free throw attempts (5-for-5 in each game) last week.
• Purdue Fort Wayne redshirt-senior Hannah Hess scored 18 points in the season opener against SIUE to lead the Mastodons.
• NKU sophomore Ivy Turner leads the Norse in scoring so far this season, averaging 12.0 points for the Norse through two contests.
RESULTS
| Date | Game | |
| Wednesday, Nov. 25 | SIUE 66, Purdue Fort Wayne 50 | |
| Eastern Illinois 82, UIC 71 | ||
| IUPUI 85, Northern Illinois 61 | ||
| Xavier 81, Detroit Mercy 73 | ||
| Cincinnati 73, NKU 67 (OT) | ||
| Milwaukee 67, Ball State 56 | ||
| Friday, Nov. 27 | Michigan 95, Oakland 62 | |
| Saturday, Nov. 28 | Green Bay 69, Drake 61 | |
| Milwaukee 65, Bradley 60 | ||
| Sunday, Nov. 29 | UIC 66, Eastern Michigan 62 | |
| Toledo 71, Oakland 59 | ||
| Indiana State 84, Detroit Mercy 79 | ||
| Monday, Nov. 30 | IUPUI 73, Ball State 49 | |
| Tuesday, Dec. 1 | Akron 70, NKU 60 |
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER OF THE WEEK | CAITLYN HIBNER | GREEN BAY | REDSHIRT SENIOR | GUARD | PORTAGE, WIS.
Caitlyn Hibner led Green Bay past one of the best mid-majors in the country on Saturday afternoon at the Kress Center, as the Phoenix secured a season-opening victory over Drake 69-61. Hibner’s fifth double-double of her career helped, as the senior scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in 36 minutes. The Wisconsin native finished 10-of-13 from the field, doled out four assists and swiped two steals to fill the stat sheet.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK | JASMINE KONDRAKIEWICZ | GREEN BAY | FRESHMAN | FORWARD | MILWAUKEE, WIS.
Jasmine Kondrakiewicz made her first career start for Green Bay on Saturday afternoon, marking the first time since the 2013-14 season a true freshman graced the starting lineup for the Phoenix. Kondrakiewicz took advantage of the opportunity and scored 15 points in 20 minutes while shooting 50% (5-10) from the field. She also pulled down two rebounds, dished out one assist, logged one steal and recorded a block in her debut.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV/Live Stream |
| Wednesday, Dec. 2 | Milwaukee at Marquette | 2 p.m. | GoMarquette.com |
| Wright State vs. Bradley | 2 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Detroit Mercy at Michigan State | 7 p.m. | BTN Plus | |
| UIC vs. Chicago State | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Thursday, Dec. 3 | Northern Kentucky vs. Bowling Green | 12 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| Friday, Dec. 4 | Oakland vs. Chicago State | 6 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | Robert Morris vs. Norfolk State | 1 p.m. | ESPN3 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne at Evansville | 2 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Detroit Mercy at Toledo | 2 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| Green Bay at North Dakota State | 2 p.m. | ESPN3 | |
| UIC at Western Michigan | 7 p.m. | ||
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | Milwaukee at Bowling Green | 12 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| Wright State at Michigan | 12:30 p.m. | BTN Plus | |
| Northern Kentucky at Ohio State | 2 p.m. | ||
| IUPUI at Notre Dame | 2 p.m. | ACCNX | |
| Green Bay at North Dakota State | 2 p.m. | NDSU All-Access |
