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 Concordia, Saint Benedict, St. Catherine, Saint Mary's, St. Olaf, and St. Scholastica claimed the Conference's weekly honors.
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 2023-24 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the 2023-24 Athlete of the Week archive for complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Cameron Mallory
Saint Mary's University
Jr. | Guard
Joliet, Ill. | Lincoln Way East
Cameron Mallory led the Cardinals in a pair of conference games last week, averaging 23.5 points to go along with 13 rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals. Mallory scored 20 points in a loss to Augsburg on 1/3 before going off for a career-high 27 points in SMU's 83-56 win over Macalester three days later.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Jacob Cook
Concordia College
So. | Forward
Clitherall, Minn. | Ashby
Jacob Cook led the Cobbers with an average of 8.0 rebounds to go along with a trio of blocks in three games dating back to 12/30. Cook was a key component in the team's 10-point win over Carleton on 1/6 as he hauled down seven rebounds to help Concordia outrebound the Knights, holding the defending conference champs to their lowest board total of the season and giving the Cobbers a win over Carleton for the first time since 2019.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Hattie Fox
St. Catherine University
Fy. | Guard
Osceola, Wis.
Hattie Fox led the Wildcats to a 2-0 week by averaging 20 points per game in wins over Macalester (1/3) and St. Olaf (1/6). Fox was perfect from the free throw line, going 18-for-18 at the stripe. Fox tallied 18 points and added two assists versus the Scots before pouring in a season-best 22 points against the Oles. She also had seven points in just 15 minutes of action against Buena Vista on 12/30.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Emme Golembiewski
St. Catherine University
So. | Forward
Minong, Wis. | Northwood
Emme Golembiewski helped the Wildcats to a 2-0 week with conference wins over Macalester (1/3) and St. Olaf (1/6). Golembiewski had a game-high nine rebounds to go along with two steals against the Scots before contributing eight boards, four steals, and three blocks against the Oles. Golembiewski also posted another eight rebounds plus a steal and a block in the Wildcats' 69-50 win over Buena Vista on 12/30.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Filimon Ledenkov
The College of St. Scholastica
Sr. | Forward
Polotsk, Belarus | Ostroshitsko-Gorodokskaya
Filimon Ledenkov recorded four goals and three assists over the Saints' latest four-game stretch. Ledenkov had a three-point night in a 5-2 win over Dubuque on 12/29 to notch his 100th collegiate point. In a series split with Concordia on 1/5-6, Ledenkov scored back-to-back goals in each contest, including an assist in a 6-3 victory on 1/6.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Connor Kalthoff
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Defender
Sartell, Minn.
Connor Kalthoff helped the Oles to non-conference victories over a pair of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) programs on 1/5-6. Kalthoff played a pivotal role on both ends of the ice, as the Oles outscored nationally-ranked UW-Eau Claire and Northland by a combined margin of 13-2. Kalthoff assisted on the game-winning goal against the Blugolds on 1/5 before handing out four assists in a 10-0 shutout versus Northland the following day, matching the most assists by an Ole in a game since 2001 and becoming the first MIAC men's skater to have four assists in a game this season.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Aurora Opsahl
College of Saint Benedict
Jr. | Forward
Duluth, Minn. | Hermantown
Aurora Opsahl scored four goals to lead the Bennies to a pair of non-conference home wins over Lake Forest on 1/4-5. Opsahl tallied a hat trick in a 4-0 on 1/4 before adding the game-winner in the third period of a 1-0 victory on 1/5. Opsahl has scored goals in five straight games and leads the Bennies in points with 14 on the season.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Kate Moffat
College of Saint Benedict
Jr. | Goaltender
St. Louis, Mo. | Lindbergh
Kate Moffat posted her second shutout of the season and the third of her career in a 4-0 win over Lake Forest on 1/5. Moffat recorded 26 saves in the contest.