Junior guard Tahnee Balerio was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the period of December 11-17 after scoring a career-high 39 points to lead the Lady Bears in a 71-56 victory over Oregon on Dec. 16.

Balerio scored 11 points in a critical 13-4 Missouri State run that turned a three-point Lady Bear lead into a 58-46 advantage with just over six minutes remaining in the game. With Missouri State leading, 45-42 with 11:21 left on the clock, Balerio drained her fourth three-pointer of the contest to push the margin to six points, then coolly sank another trey on the Lady Bears’ next trip down the court to extend the lead to 51-44 at the 10:38 mark. The Buhler, Kan., native capped the scoring spurt with a jumper that put Missouri State up by 12 and essentially sealed the Lady Bears’ third win of the season, as Oregon would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.

In all, Balerio scored 22 of her 39 points in the second half and finished the game 10-of-15 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. She also handed out an assist, had two steals, a career-best eight rebounds and knocked down 14 free throws in a school record-tying 20 attempts.

Balerio’s 39-point effort ranks 15th all-time on the MSU single-game scoring list, and only three Lady Bears have posted bigger scoring nights, including MVC Hall of Famers Jackie Stiles and Melody Howard.

The weekly award is the first for Balerio, who is averaging a league-high 19.4 points per game through the first eight contests of the season.