Illinois State forward Katie Donovan, the leading freshman rebounder in the Missouri Valley Conference, was one of five players selcted to the conferences All-Freshman Team.
Donovan, a 6-foot native of Kingston, Ontario, broke the Redbird freshman record for offensive rebounds in a season with 75. She averaged 6.1 rebounds per game, No. 13 in the Missouri Valley. She led her team in rebounding for the season and had five double-figure rebounding games.
She also scored 7.8 points per game for the season and her 48.3 percent from the field in Missouri Valley Conference games, ranking No. 8 in the conference in league game statistics. Among her season highlights was a 15-point, 14-rebound effort vs. Louisville, plus 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Redbirds non-conference win over Northern Illinois.
Redbird coach Jenny Yopp believes Donovan will have a large impact on Illinois States future.
Clearly, Katie is capable of developing into a versatile, all-around basketball player, said Yopp. She is a gifted athlete who embodies a passion for the game. Our coaching staff is looking forward to working with Katie, and all of our other talented young players, to prepare for next season. They are the main reason that our future looks so bright.
The Redbirds lose just one player, center Kristi Larson, to graduation. As it stands now, the 2002-2003 Redbird roster will include two seniors, five juniors, six sophomores and two freshmen.
Donovan played some of her best basketball of the season in the final month, averaging 10.3 points per game in her final seven games and shooting 60.4 percent from the field, hitting 32 of her last 53 shots for the season. She is joined on the team by fellow rookies Dena Williams and Genny Mueller from Bradley, Laura Spanheimer from Creighton and Jenny Lingor from Southwest Missouri State.
The league also announced its 10-player all-conference team (Jennifer Kaczka of Wichita State and Carla Bennett of Drake, both selected for the third year) and its all-defensive squad, which includes Latasha Austin of Evansville, chosen for the third straight year.
The Valleys All-Freshman team is elected by vote of the leagues coaches, media relations representatives and two media members from each teams market. Since the league began choosing the team in 1994, Donovan joins teammate Steph Reichle (2000), plus former Redbirds Jenny Schmidt (1996) and Corinne Vossel (1995) as members of Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman teams from Illinois State.
