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 Augsburg, Saint Mary’s, and St. Olaf claimed the Conference’s weekly honors for December 6-12, 2021.
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 2021-22 Athlete of the Week home page, navigate to the MIAC’s Awards page or visit the 2021-22 Athlete of the Week news archive for complete details on each week’s selections and winners.
MIAC Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week
Joe Palmer
Augsburg University
Jr. | Guard
Faribault, Minn.
Joe Palmer averaged 24.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 58.1 percent from the field in a 2-0 week for the Auggies. Palmer scored 18 and grabbed nine rebounds in a win over Gustavus on 12/8 and notched a double-double with 30 points and 10 rebounds in the Auggies’ win over St. Olaf on 12/11.
MIAC Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week
Brooklyn Paulson
Saint Mary’s University
Sr. | Guard
Holmen, Wis.
Brooklyn Paulson led the Cardinals in scoring in both conference games last week, closing out the week averaging 20.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. The SMU senior scored 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting with two 3-pointers and a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the free-throw line in the Cardinals’ 72-63 loss to the Oles on 12/8. Paulson followed that up with a 16-point, three-rebound effort in a 65-51 loss to Bethel on 12/11.
MIAC Men’s Hockey Athlete of the Week
Tyler Cooper
St. Olaf College
Fy. | Forward
Ponte Vedra, Fla.
Tyler Cooper became the first Ole since at least 2001 to score four goals in a game by netting four of St. Olaf’s five goals in a 5-2 win over Bethel on 12/11. The first-year forward opened the scoring late in the first period, scored the eventual game-winning goal in the second period, and added two goals in the third period to become the sixth NCAA Division III student-athlete to score four goals in a game this season. His four-goal performance was also the first hat trick by an Ole since 11/04/2017 and brought his season total to eight.
MIAC Women’s Hockey Athlete of the Week
Kensie Malone
Augsburg University
So. | Forward
Minneapolis, Minn. |Â Gentry Academy
Kensie Malone had a five-point week with three goals and two assists in three non-conference games for the Auggies. She assisted on the opening goal in Augsburg’s 4-2 win at UW-Superior on 12/7 and went on to tally the first multi-goal game of her career at UW-Stevens Point on 12/10 by scoring a shorthanded goal and a power-play goal in Augsburg’s 6-2 win. She scored another shorthanded goal and added an assist in Augsburg’s 4-3 loss at St. Norbert on 12/11.
