By Kyle Soppe
No team likes road trips, especially during the final week of a semester. But the Billikens (3-6), paced by 6’2″ junior Mallory Eggert, played hard and competed while traveling to Wisconsin and Florida this past week. Eggert’s grit and toughness, as well as being a consistent offensive threat, made her the selection for A-10 Performance of the Week.
Eggert has been known around the Billiken community as a role model both on and off the court. She was recognized with the 2010-2011 Billiken Award, “given to the player who best exemplifies a combination of passion, leadership, selflessness and community involvement”. But if you were to ask the Badgers and Owls, the phrases “tenacious rebounder” and “relentless effort” belonged in the awards description.
On Monday, St. Louis visited Wisconsin, and played a typical Big Ten basketball game: low scoring, fundamentally sound, and extremely competitive. Eggert battled Badger captain Ashley Thomas hard all night, collecting seven rebounds and a season high 10 points on the night. Playing alongside Lorreal Jones, one of the A-10’s elite rebounders, Eggert’s role has been somewhat limited, but a performance like this caught the attention of the St. Louis coaching staff. The numbers may not pop off the screen, but in a game that featured Thomas, Taylor Wurtz, Anya Covington, and Jones, Eggert held her own, and her four offensive rebounds indicate that she belonged in such company. While the Billikens fell in a tight game, 48-46, Eggert gained valuable confidence that would help her soon rather than later.
Friday night’s game in Florida was the coming out party for Eggert, who recorded her first double-double of the season. With Jones fighting foul trouble, the junior stepped in and dominated en route to the Billikens 70-63 win. She simply would not be denied, snaring a season high 14 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. Not only was she rebounding an a high level, she often converted those offense boards into points, as she dropped in a career high (and team high) 14. The 70 points scored by St. Louis was a season high, and Eggert’s production was a main reason way. The Billikens only connected on two three points, meaning that 64 of their points came from inside the arc, where Eggert was the focal point.
On the week, Eggert shot 40% from the field and 73% from the free throw line. She is currently the fifth leading scorer on St. Louis, but no player was more valuable to her team than Eggert was this past week.
The Billikens will return home for their next three contests before they depart to Washington for the Delta Dental Holiday Hoops Classic.
Thoughts on the selection? Other nominations for our Performance of the Week?
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