By: MIAA Communications

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (November 23, 2020) - The MIAA announced its first women’s basketball athlete of the week for the 2020-2021 season. Central Oklahoma’s Kelsey Johnson was tabbed with the first honor after leading the Bronchos to back-to-back wins in its season-opening weekend. 

Johnson scored 30 points in her season debut against Missouri Southern then followed with a 26-point performance against Pittsburg State. She had 11 rebounds in the victory over the Lions then add 13 more rebounds to the stat line in the win over the Gorillas. For the week, Johnson was 23-for-39 (59 percent) overall from the field and was 9-for-13 from the free-throw line.

Notable Performances In The Association
Haley Simental - Nebraska Kearney
Simental averaged 10 points, six assists, and three rebounds per game as the Lopers defeated Emporia State and Washburn.

Cenia Hayes - Northeastern State
Hayes nearly averaged a double-double as she finished with 22 points per game and eight rebounds per game as the RiverHawks recorded wins over Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western. In the win over MWSU, she became the eighth student-athlete in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

Molly Hartnett - Northwest Missouri
Harnett netted 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds against Northeastern State in her career debut for the Bearcats. She then recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a win at Rogers State.

Nominations For Athletes of the Week
Kelsey Johnson - Central Oklahoma, Carley Turnbull - Missouri Southern, Camille Evans - Missouri Western, Haley Simental - Nebraska Kearney, Rylee Meloy - Newman, Cenia Hayes - Northeastern State, Molly Hartnett - Northwest Missouri, Macy Doebele - Washburn