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 Carleton, Gustavus, Macalester, 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.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week archive has complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Noah Shannon
Macalester College
Jr. | Forward
Northfield, Ill. | New Trier
Noah Shannon poured in a career-high 25 points on 11-of-19 (.579) shooting from the field to lead the Scots to an 88-72 victory over UW-Stout on 11/26. Shannon also matched his career-best with 15 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
MIAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Sam Koelling
Carleton College
So. | Forward
Ann Arbor, Mich. | Skyline
Sam Koelling matched his career high with four blocked shots in the Knights' come-from-behind victory over UW-River Falls on 11/30. Those blocks proved critical as they helped Carleton erase a ten-point second-half deficit in an eventual 72-67 victory that snapped the Falcons’ three-game win streak against MIAC squads. Koelling added a game-high 19 points and four rebounds.
MIAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week
Emma Kniefel
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Guard
Medford, Minn.
Emma Kniefel led the Gusties to a 78-72 victory over previously unbeaten Colorado College on 11/25. After starting the game down eight points on meager 4-for-19 first-quarter shooting, Kniefel hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer at the end of the quarter to get the team back on track. Kniefel finished the game with a team-high 21 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the field. She hit three three-pointers to contribute to 13 total for the team, a new season-high. Kniefel also added a trio of rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and a block, in addition to drawing four fouls.
MIAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week
Morgan Kelly
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Forward
St. Peter, Minn.
Morgan Kelly made her first start of the season in the Gusties' 78-72 triumph over Colorado College on 11/25, collecting a team-high seven rebounds to go along with a blocked shot. Kelly also scored 17 points in the win and added an assist in the win.
MIAC Men's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Tristan Shewchuk
The College of St. Scholastica
Jr. | Forward
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Tristan Shewchuk scored twice and assisted on three other goals to help the Saints win the Superior Showdown holiday tournament on 11/29-30. Shewchuk contributed four points with two goals and two assists in a 5-3 win over Dubuque on 11/29, which included scoring the game-winning goal. In the championship matchup with the host Yellowjackets, Shewchuk logged an assist on the third-period game-winner of a 3-2 victory over UW-Superior.
MIAC Men's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Marko Belak
Gustavus Adolphus College
So. | Goaltender
Woodbury, Minn. | Cretin-Derham Hall
Marko Belak posted his second shutout of the season with a 5-0 win over Northland on 11/26. Belak made 23 saves in the victory, his second-highest total of the year. He saved a pair of shots on the power play against the Lumberjacks, as well as 13 total in the second period, to help the Gusties to their fourth consecutive victory.
MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive Player of the Week
Lily Mortenson
Gustavus Adolphus College
Jr. | Forward
Champlin, Minn. | Benilde-St. Margaret's
Lily Mortenson led the Gusties with a pair of goals in a loss to nationally-ranked UW-Eau Claire on 11/26. Mortenson scored the first goal of the game just 2:31 into play on a breakaway for an early Gustie lead. After the Blugolds tallied four unanswered scores, Mortenson tallied one more goal with just one second left on the clock to bookend the game. It was her first multi-goal game of the season, third multi-point, and sixth with at least one point, extending her season-opening streak. She also led the Gusties with five shots on goal.
MIAC Women's Hockey Defensive Player of the Week
Baylyn Shankman
St. Olaf College
Fy. | Goaltender
Bedminster, N.J. | Bernards
Baylyn Shankman recorded her second shutout in as many collegiate starts by stopping all 25 shots she faced for the Oles in a 5-0 win over Manhattanville in the consolation game of the Codfish Bowl on 12/1. The first-year goaltender made five saves in the first period, 11 in the second, and nine more in the third for the win.