ST. LOUIS – Senior Lizzy Wendell (Blue Springs, Mo.) of the Drake University women's basketball team has been named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week while freshman Becca Hittner (Urbandale, Iowa) was selected the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, the league office announced Monday, Feb. 13. Wendell and Hittner have each won their respective awards a league-best five times this season.
 
Wendell averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists while shooting 60 percent (15-of-25) from the floor and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line in Drake's blowout wins over Illinois State and Bradley this past weekend.
 
In the 101-49 win over Illinois State, Wendell scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, grabbed four rebounds, nabbed four steals and handed out one assist in 23 minutes. In the 98-46 win over Bradley, she scored 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting and pulled down four rebounds, handed out four assists and snagged two steals in 27 minutes.
 
On the season, Wendell is averaging a league-high 21.7 points per game while shooting 51.6% from the field. She has scored in double figures in 102-straight games, which is currently the longest streak in the NCAA.
 
Hittner averaged 17.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists while shooting 60 percent from the floor (12-of-20) and 77.8 percent from behind the three-point line (7-of-9) versus Illinois State and Bradley.
 
Hittner poured in a career-high 20 points behind a 6-of-8 shooting performance with four three-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds and handed out two assists in 22 minutes in the win over Illinois State. She followed that with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting with three three-pointers and hauled down five rebounds and handed out three assists in 23 minutes against Bradley.
 
In her first season, Hittner is averaging 12.0 points and a team-leading 6.1 rebounds while shooting a league-best 53.7 percent from the three-point line.
 
Drake travels to Terre Haute, Ind., to face Indiana State on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. The contest will be broadcast online via The Valley on ESPN3.