Wanek named A-R-C Player of the Week
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – After leading the team in scoring for the second-straight week and helping Simpson to two wins over a pair of top-three teams in league standings, senior Anna Wanek has been named American Rivers Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 31.
This is Wanek's first weekly conference honor for basketball and sixth overall. The dual sport athlete has earned weekly recognition for tennis on five occassions throughout her career.
Wanek netted a career-high 22 points with five three-pointers in an 81-74 home win over Loras and finished second on the team with 15 points in Simpson's 78-73 overtime victory at No. 12/15 Wartburg. She ended the week tied with Jenna Taylor for a team-high 17 rebounds, resetting her single game career-high in both contests.
Over the course of the Storm's last five games, Wanek has proven herself to be a major threat on both sides of the ball. She scored 15 or more points in each contest while shooting a team-best 61.7 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from deep, and hauled in at least six rebounds in all but one contest to rank second on the team with 32 boards. Wanek averaged 18.4 points and 6.4 rebounds during the span of five games in comparison to her 8.7 and 3.4 averages in the first 13 contests of the season.
With two more A-R-C wins last week, Simpson improved to 17-1 overall and 9-0 in the conference. The Storm have won 14 games in a row and have posted 19-straight victories in league play.
Simpson has two games with Luther on tap for this week; the Storm travel to Decorah tonight for the first of two matchups at 5:30 p.m. and will host the Norse on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
2021-22 A-R-C Player of the Week recipients
Anna Wanek, Women's Basketball (1/31/22)
Cameron Kincaid, Women's Basketball (1/17/22)
Jenna Taylor, Women's Basketball (1/3/22*, 11/29/21*, 11/15/21)
Regan Freland, Women's Basketball (12/13/21)
Maddie Hays, Women's Soccer (11/1/21)
Alan Imamovic, Men's Soccer (11/1/21)
Abby Cozzoni, Women's Soccer (10/18/21)
Hailey Kowzan, Women's Soccer (10/18/21)
Madeline Streicher, Women's Golf (10/4/21, 9/27/21)
Cassie Nash, Women's Soccer (9/27/21)
Spencer Moon, Men's Cross Country (9/7/21)
Jordy Triana-Vasquez, Men's Soccer (9/7/21)
*also named Athlete of the Week
