ST. LOUIS, Mo. (February 26, 2018) – Abby O'Connor (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph), a freshman guard/forward on the Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team, has been named the Missouri Valley Conference's Newcomer of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.  This marks the third time that O'Connor has earned the weekly honor this season.
 
Out of South Bend, Ind., O'Connor averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists as Loyola split a pair of games in the state of Indiana over the weekend.  She also continued her ascent up the league's defensive charts, averaging 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks.
 
After being plagued by early foul trouble against Evansville on Friday evening, O'Connor took over in the second half, scoring 16 of her team-high 18 points to go along with three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals as part of a 60-47 win over the Purple Aces.  The 6-foot-0 guard/forward added 15 points, six rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal in a hard-fought 74-67 loss to Indiana State to close out the two-game trip.
 
O'Connor has enjoyed a breakout freshman campaign in Rogers Park.  She currently averages a team-best 10.9 ppg, a mark that leads all MVC freshmen, and is also the team's leading rebounder (5.5 rpg) and shot blocker (1.1 rpg).  Since the start of conference play, O'Connor has upper her scoring mark to 12.1 ppg, which puts her ninth overall in the Valley.
 
Loyola opens up its final homestand of the regular season on Thursday night when it entertains MVC regular-season champion Drake at 7 p.m.