Nov. 20, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. - After leading the Redbirds to the championship game of the DePaul Invitational last weekend, Illinois State freshman forward Kenyatta Shelton was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week. It is the first career weekly honor for Shelton, and the first for Illinois State this season.
Shelton continued the stellar start to her freshman season by averaging 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in three games for the Redbirds last week.
Additionally, she averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in two games at the DePaul Invitational, shooting at a .593 clip in the two games.
In the win over Stony Brook (Nov. 17), a 22-win team in 2005-06, Shelton recorded her second career double-double with a game-high 19 points (including a game-high nine field goals), 11 rebounds, and two blocks in 30 minutes. Against No. 22/19 DePaul on Saturday, Shelton had 14 points (7-of-13), six rebounds and two blocks.
Head coach Robin Pingeton was pleased with the honor, commenting that it would be the first of many for Shelton in the next four years.
"Obviously we are excited for Kenyatta, and recognize that this is a very deserving honor," said Pingeton. "She is a tireless worker, and we continue to see improvement in her game every day in practice and in each game we have played.
"The good thing for us is that she is going to get even better, because she has endless potential. Last weekend taught her a lot about the college game. It's not always easy for a freshman to start her career with four games on the road, including one against a nationally ranked team. But she handled it well, and we expect to see consistent growth out of Kenyatta."
Shelton has started all four games for Illinois State this season. She is averaging 12.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while shooting .481 from the field.
