BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for basketball and hockey on Monday. Student-athletes from Augsburg, Bethel, Carleton, Gustavus, Macalester, and St. Scholastica claimed the Conference's weekly honors for January 23-29, 2023.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the winter season, team sports (basketball and hockey) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (swimming & diving and indoor track & field) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.
To view each sport's 2022-23 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2022-23 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Spencer Swanson
Gustavus Adolphus College
So. | Forward
Waconia, Minn.
Spencer Swanson averaged 32.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in two key conference victories for the Gusties last week. Swanson scored a career-high 38 points against Bethel in a 96-92 overtime win on 1/25, becoming just the fourth player in program history to score at least 38 points in a game. He shot 15-for-21 from the floor and led the team with eight rebounds and three assists. Swanson then scored 27 points with 14 rebounds in a two-point win against Augsburg on 1/28, posting his seventh double-double of the season.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Badou Ba
Macalester College
So. | Forward
Dakar, Senegal | Williston Northampton (Mass.)
Badou Ba recorded eight rebounds and three blocks to go with eight points in a 73-66 win against Hamline on 1/25. He followed that up with nine boards, four blocks and three steals to lead the Scots past St. Scholastica on the road, 69-63, on 1/28. For the week, Ba averaged 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and 1.5 steals in two conference victories.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Aiana Whitfield
Carleton College
Sr. | Guard
Richfield, Minn. | Benilde-St. Margaret's
Aiana Whitfield averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in helping the Knights to back-to-back wins over Augsburg and Saint Mary’s last week. She shot .688 overall and .667 from beyond the arc. Whitfield scored 14 of her 15 points in the second half - including eight in the fourth quarter - of a six-point win versus the Auggies on 1/25. She was 5-of-6 from the floor, including a perfect 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Her 16 points also paced the Knights in a victory over the Cardinals on 1/28.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Grace Benz
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Forward
Steele, N.D. | Kidder County
Grace Benz averaged 8.0 rebounds per game last week for the Gusties, as well as 2.5 steals per game to go along 11.5 points. Benz put up her best defensive performance against Augsburg on 1/28, posting two steals, three blocks, and tying her career-high in rebounds with 12.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Jarod Blackowiak
Augsburg University
Sr. | Forward
Eden Prairie, Minn.
Jarod Blackowiak scored two goals with four assists for a six-point weekend in the Auggies' series split with Saint John's over the weekend. He had an assist in Augsburg's 5-4 overtime loss in White Bear Lake on 1/27, then figured in the scoring on five of Augsburg's six goals in the Auggies' 6-5 win in St. Cloud on 1/28, with two goals and three assists for a career-best five-point effort.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Jack Bostedt
The College of St. Scholastica
Jr. | Goaltender
Janesville, Wis. | Janesville Craig
Jack Bostedt earned his first shutout of the season and made 26 saves in a 2-0 victory over Hamline on 1/27. On 1/28, Bostedt again helped his team pick-up the series sweep and a critical standings point as he recorded 38 saves in a 4-3 overtime win.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Allie Bussey
The College of St. Scholastica
Jr. | Forward
Hibbing, Minn.
Allie Bussey played a role in six goals in a 2-1 week for the Saints. Bussey scored the team's lone goal in a loss to UW-Eau Claire on 1/24. She then had a career-high three assists in the team's 4-0 win over Hamline on 1/27 and added a pair of assists in the 4-2 series sweep over the Pipers on 1/28.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Anna Hanson
Bethel University
So. | Goaltender
Stacy, Minn. | Chisago Lakes
Anna Hanson went 2-1-0 with a 0.66 goals against average, .980 save percentage and 97 combined saves in-goal for the Royals last week. She started the week with back-to-back shutout wins against Northland (1/24) and Saint Mary's (1/27). Hanson then tallied a career-high 46 saves in the Royals' 2-1 overtime loss to Saint Mary's on 1/28, with both goals coming on Cardinal power plays.