KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced a new Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week award winner for week nine of the 2025-26 season. Missouri Western’s Mia Morel earned this week’s MIAA Athlete of the Week award for the Griffons’ first weekly honor of the season.
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Mia Morel, Missouri Western
Mia Morel turned in an outstanding week for the Griffons, highlighted by a dominant 39-point performance in an 86-69 win over Nebraska Kearney. In the win at home over the Lopers, Morel was nearly unstoppable offensively, shooting 13-of-18 from the field (72.2 percent) and an exceptional 7-of-8 from three-point range (87.5 percent), while also going 6-of-7 at the free-throw line (85.7 percent). The senior guard also added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals in 36 minutes of action. Morel’s 39-point performance stands as the second-most points in a single game in Griffon women's basketball history, tying the program record set by Yanique Javois and Jill Johnson, while her seven three-pointers also tied for the second-most in a game alongside Carly Lee and Brionna Budgetts. Across Missouri Western’s two MIAA contests last week, Morel averaged 25.5 points per game in 35.1 minutes. She shot 53.1 percent from the floor and 56.3 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on 9-of-16 three-pointers for the week and went 8-of-9 at the free-throw line (88.9 percent). In addition to her scoring, Morel averaged 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. She is the first Griffon to earn the MIAA Athlete of the Week title this season.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Talexa Weeter, Fort Hays State
Talexa Weeter averaged 25.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in a pair of MIAA road wins for the Tigers. The junior guard poured in a trio of three-pointers in each game, shooting 54.5 percent from behind the arc (6-of-11). Weeter opened the week with 33 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in a 66-60 win over Missouri Western – her seventh 30-point game of the season. She followed that up with 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals in a 60-46 road win over Northwest Missouri. The Goodland, Kan. native currently leads Division II and ranks second across all NCAA divisions with an average of 28.2 points per game.
Kaycee McCumber, Pittsburg State
Kaycee McCumber averaged a double-double for Pittsburg State in a pair of road wins over Rogers State (Jan. 14) and Central Oklahoma (Jan. 17). For the week, the Farmington, Ark., native averaged 14.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in 21.5 minutes a game for her third and fourth double-double performances of the season. In the 69-57 win over the Hillcats, McCumber finished with a 17-point, 15-rebound effort in 25 minutes of action. She ended the week with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double in 18 minutes of play in the Gorillas’ 84-56 win at Central Oklahoma. McCumber shot 52.6 percent from the field and converted on all nine of her free throw attempts against the Hillcats and Bronchos. McCumber currently leads the MIAA in rebounds per game at 9.6, while also adding 8.3 points per game. In MIAA action, she leads the conference with 11.1 boards per game and is putting up 9.1 points per MIAA contest.
ALSO NOMINATED:
Jerney Bennett [Central Oklahoma], Myleigh Weers [Nebraska Kearney], Lilly Thomas [Missouri Southern], Kaitlyn Sanders [Emporia State], Aniah Wayne [Washburn], Deyanna Douglas [Northeastern State]
WEEK ONE: Talexa Weeter, Fort Hays State
WEEK TWO: Kaitlyn Sanders, Emporia State
WEEK THREE: Talexa Weeter, Fort Hays State
WEEK FOUR: Yiibari Nwidadah, Washburn
WEEK FIVE: Talexa Weeter, Fort Hays State
WEEK SIX: Jillian Aschoff, Nebraska Kearney
WEEK SEVEN: Talexa Weeter, Fort Hays State
WEEK EIGHT: Brooke Loewe, Fort Hays State
WEEK NINE: Mia Morel, Missouri Western