CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After a dominating offense performance to lead the Illinois softball team at the Mardi Gras Invitational, sophomore designated player/catcher Bella Loya was tabbed as the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday (Feb. 25).

Loya, who was named to the Mardi Gras Invitational All-Tournament Team, helped the Illini post a 3-1 record at the tournament hosted by South Alabama in Mobile, Ala., with a win over the host Jaguars and a pair of victories over Nicholls State.

The Mission Viejo, Calif., native registered a .667 average with a 10-for-15 performance at the dish that included three home runs and two doubles, while also tallying eight RBI, four runs and 21 total bases. She recorded a 1.400 slugging percentage, a .688 on-base percentage and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

She started the weekend with a bang with a 4-for-4 effort with two singles, a double and a home run, as well as four RBI and two runs in a win over USA on Friday. She then knocked a pair of hits – including a double and a dinger – to go along with an RBI and a run in the first win over NSU on Saturday, before adding a hit and an RBI against Stephen F. Austin later in the day. She then wrapped up the tournament going 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and a run on Sunday against the Colonels. 

Loya and the Illini next head to Tulsa, Okla., for the OSU-Tulsa Invitational at the Collins Family Softball Complex on March 1-3.

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