After two strong performances which included a record-setting night at Illinois State, Valpo women's basketball redshirt junior forward Milana Nenadic (Kitchener, Ontario/Cameron Heights [Idaho State/Maine]) has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week.
 
Nenadic had a night to remember last Thursday evening against the Redbirds, coming off the bench to deliver 34 points on 16-of-25 shooting and six rebounds. Her 16 field goals broke the previous program record for baskets in a game — a record which had stood for over four decades. She is tied for ninth among NCAA D-I players this season for field goals in a game and is one of just four MVC players in the last nine years to hit at least 16 shots in a game.
 
The 34 points are tied for fifth-most in a single game in program history, are the highest point total off the bench and make Nenadic one of just two Valpo players since 1992 to score that many in a game. She is tied with Murray State's Halli Poock for the highest-scoring game by an MVC player this season.
 
Nenadic followed that performance with a team-best 18 points in just 22 minutes on Sunday against Drake as she scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the second time this year. She also tied for team-high honors against the Bulldogs with five rebounds.
 
On the week, Nenadic averaged 26 points/game — the highest average among MVC players who played two games last week — on 54.8% shooting from the floor and 5.5 rebounds/game. After hitting just two 3-pointers over the season's first 17 games, Nenadic went 5-for-11 from behind the arc last week.
 
Nenadic is Valpo's first weekly award winner from the MVC in over four years, as the program's last winner was Olivia Brown, who earned Newcomer of the Week accolades Jan. 10, 2022.