BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. - The Mountain East Conference announced Monday the winners of this week’s Men’s and Women’s Basketball Player of the Week awards. The MEC Player of the Week awards are presented by The Health Plan.
Concord’s Abbie Smith and Fairmont State’s Leslie Huffman share the MEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week award, while Concord’s Kraig Gilbert and Wheeling’s Caleb Murray share the MEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors.
Smith, a senior forward from Little Hocking, Ohio, averaged a double-double of 17.6 points and 11.6 rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the floor as Concord won its first two Mountain East Conference games. She scored 14 of her 22 points in the second half at West Virginia State as CU went on to an 80-74 win. She added 14 rebounds in the contest. Against Charleston on Saturday, Smith was 10-for-17 from the floor as she netted another 22 points and added 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. Additionally, she was 11-for-13 at the foul line during the week (84.6 percent). She just missed a double-double of nine points and 11 rebounds in a non-conference tilt at Ferrum.
Huffman, a senior guard from Marietta, Ohio, averaged 25.0 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game, and 4.0 steals per game as the Fighting Falcons went 2-0 on the week. She scored 23 points while pulling down 12 rebounds for a double-double in an 86-53 victory over Davis & Elkins. She then scored 27 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, to go with six assists in a 90-78 win over West Virginia Wesleyan. Huffman also had four steals in each contest.
Gilbert, a sophomore forward from Grover City, Ohio, averaged 19 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game while shooting 62.5 percent from the field (15-for-24) and 52.8 percent (7-for-13) from three-point range in a pair of Concord wins. Gilbert started the week by scoring 22 points in a 97-76 win at West Virginia State. Then on Saturday, he delivered 16 points and nine rebounds in an 82-78 win over Charleston--the first for Concord over the Golden Eagles since January 2021.
Murray, a senior guard from Beallsville, Ohio, helped power the Cardinals to a 2-0 week as they defeated Point Park and Salem. He finished with 36 points, including a career-high 23 points against Salem, while going 7-12 (58.3 percent) from three-point range and 12-24 (50 percent) from the floor. He got his week started against Point Park, where he finished with 13 points while going 2-5 from beyond the arc.
2025 MEC MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
11/17: Mike Montano, Frostburg State
11/24: Mike Montano, Frostburg State & Kraig Gilbert, Concord
12/1: Boubacar Djigo, Concord
12/8: Kraig Gilbert, Concord & Caleb Murray, Wheeling
2025 MEC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
11/17: Kenzie Dalton, Wheeling
11/24: Leslie Huffman, Fairmont State & Abbie Smith, Concord
12/1: Mandy Roman, Frostburg State
12/8: Abbie Smith, Concord & Leslie Huffman, Fairmont State