KANSAS CITY – John Brown junior Terrah Stephens was named NAIA Women’s Basketball National Player of the Week for Week 8 of the 2021-2022 season.

In JBU’s 78-73 overtime win over Panhandle State, Stephens rewrote three single-game program records, including total points, field goals made and field goals attempted by finishing the afternoon with a 45-point outing on 18-of-27 shooting from the floor. Finishing 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, she completed her fifth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.

Stephens also hit another milestone and punched her ticket into the 1,000 point club. The Wyandotte, Okla. native became the 19th entry onto the prestigious list in the third when her hook shot fell after shedding a defender with a pivot back into the middle.

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RUSSELLVILLE – For the first time in what has been an illustrious career as a Mulerider, Southern Arkansas senior forward Devante Brooks has been named the Great American Conference’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. The official announcement was made early Monday afternoon by the league and comes after Brooks delivered a pair of impressive performances this past weekend to help the Muleriders to two league wins.

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Brooks became the second Mulerider in program history, the first in the program’s NCAA Era and the first player in GAC history to collect 1,000 rebounds which he reached with his ninth board of the night in Thursday’s 69-49 win over Northwestern Oklahoma. Double-doubles in both wins ran his season total to eight, improved his streak to seven and stood as the 36th and 37th such efforts of his career, respectively, which continues to build as the most in league history.

He averaged 17 points per game behind an overall shooting clip of 50% and he grabbed 15.5 rebounds per game. Brooks scored 21 points and added 15 rebounds to his season ledger against the Rangers and two nights later he followed that effort with 13 points and 16 rebounds in a 70-41 win over Southwestern Oklahoma.

For his career, Brooks has recorded 10+ rebounds in a game 37 times and has eclipsed ten points in 68 games.

Devante and the Muleriders prepare for their first Oklahoma road swing of the season as East Central (1/6) and Southeastern Oklahoma (1/8) await Southern Arkansas this weekend.

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RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Following one of the best receiving performances in school history against UAM, Henderson State’s L’liott Curry was named Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Curry was simply unstoppable against the Boll Weevils and finished the night with 10 receptions for a career-high 228 yards and four touchdowns. The senior from Guthrie, Okla. pulled in touchdown catches of 6, 48, 58, and 62 yards in the 58-18 win.

His 228 receiving yards were the fourth-most in a single game in school history and his four touchdowns marked only the second time in the last 20 years that a Reddie receiver has pulled in four or more touchdown passes.

Curry, who was a 2021 Preseason All-American by multiple publications, has lived up to that billing so far and leads the GAC with 416 receiving yards. He is second in the league with five touchdowns and is averaging a conference-best 138.7 yards per game. The GAC weekly award is the second of Curry’s career at Henderson and is the first for a Reddie this season.

The Reddies (3-0) face their toughest test of the season this Saturday night when they host rival Southern Arkansas at 6 p.m. inside Carpenter-Haygood Stadium and Ruggles Field.

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GAC Communications

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced the league’s second Football Player of the Week awards of the 2021 season. Oklahoma Baptist’s Preston Haire earned the Offense accolade; Southern Arkansas’ Gavin Roe and Demarcus Williams claimed the Defensive and Specials Teams honors.

GAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Preston Haire, Oklahoma Baptist, QB, Sr., Trophy Club, Texas

Haire reached multiple milestones in the Bison’ 45-20 win against Arkansas-Monticello. With his 378 passing yards, he surpassed 9,000 passing yards and 10,000 yards of total offense for his career. He completed 36-of-50 passes and his four touchdown passes gave him 80 as a Bison.

GAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Gavin Roe, Southern Arkansas, LB, Fr., Haughton, Louisiana

Roe led the Mulerider defense with a game-high 10 tackles in the 42-27 victory against Southwestern. Roe added an interception in the fourth quarter as SAU held an eight-point lead and had SWOSU driving across midfield. SAU extended its win streak against SWOSU to six games overall and six straight in Magnolia.

GAC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Demarcus Williams, Southern Arkansas, RS, Fr., Marshall, Texas

Williams returned four kickoffs a total of 124 yards as the Muleriders rallied in the second half for a 42-27 home win against Southwestern Oklahoma State. His long return of the day, a 62-yard run back opened the second half. Two of his returns set up SAU touchdowns.

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JONESBORO – Arkansas State wide receiver Corey Rucker was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after posting nine receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns during the Red Wolves’ season-opening 40-21 victory over Central Arkansas.

Rucker was tabbed the league’s offensive player of the week for the second time of his career, also earning the recognition last year following A-State’s season finale against ULM.  Dating back to that game, the second-year freshman has posted a combined 18 receptions for 448 yards and seven touchdowns over his last two games played.

The Yazoo City, Miss., native posted all three of his touchdown catches, which were only shy of tying his own school record, in the second half to help the Red Wolves overcome a 7-6 halftime deficit and pick up the 19-point victory.  His 138 receiving yards were the second most of his career, while his nine receptions tied his personal best.

Rucker’s first touchdown catch covered 34 yards and extended A-State lead to 20-7, and his next two covered eight and 33 yards.  He increased his career numbers to 25 receptions for 591 yards and eight touchdowns, which are four shy of tying the ninth most in school history.

The Red Wolves won their season opener for the first time since 2018 and now turn their attention to Memphis, facing the Tigers this Saturday, Sept. 11, at 6:00 p.m. at Centennial Bank Stadium.

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RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced the league’s Volleyball Players of the Week for the third week of the 2021 spring season. Arkansas-Monticello’s Katelyn Richbourg and Katie Pearson garnered the Defensive Player and Setter awards while Harding’s Libby Hinton earned the Offensive honor.

GAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Libby Hinton, Harding, MB, So., Glen Rose, Texas

Hinton led the Lady Bisons in a three-set victory against Southern Nazarene. She registered a season-high 11 kills with a season-high .529 attack percentage. She averaged 4.00 points per set. Harding improved to 3-0 and extended its win streak against Southern Arkansas to nine

GAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Katelyn Richbourg, Arkansas-Monticello, DS, Jr., Magnolia, Arkansas

Richbourg spearheaded a stout defensive effort for the Blossoms in their four-set win against Ouachita on Tuesday. She recorded 41 digs as the Tigers produced just a .085 attack percentage. She became the second player in GAC history to tally at least 40 digs in a four-set contest.

GAC SETTER OF THE WEEK – Katie Pearson, Arkansas-Monticello, Sr., Kansas City, Missouri

Pearson helped the Blossoms end an 11-match losing streak to Ouachita as she recorded 48 assists in the four-set win on Tuesday. The 48 assists represented her career high for a three- or four-set match. After hitting a combined .065 in its first two matches, Arkansas-Monticello hit .257 against Ouachita.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lubbock Christian’s Brooke Makemson and Harding’s Lily Tanski were named 2021 Division II Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for their outstanding performances for contests played Feb. 1-7.

Behind four home runs and 13 RBI, Makemson powered LCU to four home victories at the Lubbock Sports College Invitational. The senior shortstop hit .692 (9-for-13) with six extra-base hits (2B, 3B, 4 HR), slugged 1.846 and posted a .714 on-base percentage. Selected Lone Star Hitter of the Week, Makemson launched two homers and drove in five runs in the opener against Washburn, while adding a triple, long ball and four RBI against Fort Hays State. She also turned in a mistake-free defensive effort at short with nine putouts and 13 assists.

Tanski tossed a pair of four-hit shutouts as Harding went 4-0 at the UAH Charger Chillout. The Great American Conference Player of the Week blanked No. 10 Trevecca Nazarene and Shorter, fanning 15 and not issuing a walk over 14 innings of work. Against the 10th-ranked Trojans, Tanski struck out five, while she added a career-high 10 punchouts versus the Hawks.

Selected Top Performances
Kaylee Vaught, UAH – .636, 2 HR, 12 RBI, .571 OBP, 1.182 SLG; Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas A&M University-Commerce – 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 17 K, 3 BB, no-hitter vs. TAMIU; Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian – 2-0, SV, 0.00 ERA, 2 H, 0 R, 14.1 IP, .045 opp. BA; Chelsea Blankenship, Harding- .533, 2B, 3 3B, 5 RBI, 4 R, 1.000 SLG, 1.000 FLD (22 PO, 4 A); Julie Gast, Lees-McRae- 2 GP, .571, 4 H, 4 RBI, HR, 1.000 SLG; Hannah Towery, Newberry- 2 GP, .500, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 1.125 SLG; Savannah Foster, Tusculum- 1-0, 0.00 ERA, SHO, 8 K, 4 H; Ashley Autuori, Young Harris – .571, 2 2B, HR, 10 RBI, .929 SLG, .625 OBP; Kyra Gipson, Flagler- 2-0. 0.40 ERA, SV, 16 K, 2 BB, 17.2 IP.

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ST. LOUIS – For the third time this season, a Central Baptist College Mustang wrestler has been selected as American Midwest Conference Athlete of the Week. Christian Richer was the recipient of that honor this week, join Alejandro Mas (FR/Tampa, FL), who was selected twice earlier this season.

Richer won the only match he competed in this week, defeat Omar Gausmann of Lyon College by a 15-0 technical fall last Thursday. He improved his overall record this season to 5-2 since joining the squad in January.

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NEW ORLEANS –  The Sun Belt  announced its men’s basketball player of the week on Tuesday – Ruot Monyyong, senior from Little Rock.

Monyyong notched a pair of impressive double-doubles in Little Rock’s weekend split at Louisiana, averaging 18.0 points and 14.5 rebounds while shooting 52% from the floor and going 10-of-15 from the line.

In Friday’s game, he had 17 points on 8-for-15 shooting with 13 rebounds, two assists and a block. On Saturday he scored 19 points with 16 rebounds and went 9-for-11 from the line, helping lead Little Rock to the overtime win. In Sun Belt play, Monyyong is averaging 19.3 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. He has seven double-doubles on the year (top-five nationally and leads the Sun Belt) and has 23 for his Trojan career.

Player of the Week Recap
Week 1 – Justin Roberts, Georgia State
Week 2 – Markquis Nowell, Little Rock
Week 3 – Adrian Delph, App State
Week 4 – DeVante’ Jones, Coastal Carolina
Week 5 – Corey Allen, Georgia State
Week 6 – Ben Coupet Jr., Little Rock
Week 7 – Ruot Monyyong, Little Rock

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NEW ORLEANS –  The Sun Belt  announced its men’s basketball player of the week on Monday.

Ben Coupet Jr., Little Rock
(Sr, G – Chicago, Ill.)

Coupet scored a combined 53 points on 77.3% shooting (17-of-22), including a blistering 73.3% (11-of-15) from three point range and 80.0% (8-of-10) from the line, helping lead Little Rock to a pair of wins in the opening weekend of Sun Belt conference play. The senior from Chicago scored a career high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting and was 5-of-7 from three and 2-for-2 from the line in the Trojans’ 102-93 win over UT Arlington Friday.

On Saturday, Coupet scored 26 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 6-of-8 from three-point range leading the Trojans to a 75-62 win. He scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half, helping the Trojans pull away. The senior guard also added six rebounds and an assist. He played 38 minutes in both games.

This season, the 12 Sun Belt schools will be split into a West Division and an East Division and will play divisional opponents during the regular season to minimize travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

All 12 schools will compete in the Sun Belt Conference Championship which will be held March 5-8, 2021 in Pensacola, Fla.

Player of the Week Recap
Week 1 – Justin Roberts, Georgia State
Week 2 – Markquis Nowell, Little Rock
Week 3 – Adrian Delph, App State
Week 4 – DeVante’ Jones, Coastal Carolina
Week 5 – Corey Allen, Georgia State
Week 6 – Ben Coupet Jr., Little Rock

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