Dec. 14, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. - Just three days removed from collecting Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors, Illinois State sophomore point guard Kristi Cirone was named the Prairie Farms/MVC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced Thursday. It is Cirone's first weekly academic award of her career, and the second for an ISU basketball player this season. Junior guard Tiffany Hudson claimed the honor on Nov. 27.
Cirone, who carries a 3.46 grade-point-average in ISU's college of nursing, averaged 26.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and eight assists per-game in leading the `Birds to back-to-back home wins over Ball State and Miami last week. In the 82-72 win over the previously unbeaten Cardinals (Dec. 6), she collected a season-high 25 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds, including hitting 7-of-8 free throws in the final 3:21 to help seal the win.
In Saturday's 89-73 victory over Miami (Ohio), Cirone missed her first career triple-double by just three rebounds by pouring in a career-high 28 points, collecting 10 assists, and corralling a career-high seven rebounds. She also became just the second player in ISU history to record at least 10 assists in a game without committing a single turnover.
Redbird head coach Robin Pingeton was pleased that Cirone's achievements not only on the court, but also in the classroom, are garnering recognition.
"Kristi embodies all of the qualities of a successful student-athlete," said Pingeton. "She shows a tremendous balance between academics and athletics, and that is not an easy thing to do. As I told the team after their win over Miami, I was extremely proud of how they handled themselves in the week leading up to finals. They were all able to take care of their classroom responsibilities, and execute a great game plan and beat two very good teams. There is no question that Kristi has been the leader of our team this season, and I think this award is well-deserved."
To qualify for Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels, student-athletes must carry a cumulative GPA of 3.00, completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing. In addition to the academic qualifications, student-athletes will be evaluated on their athletic performance for a one-week period.
The Redbirds will wrap up their three-game home stand this Sunday, when they host Eastern Michigan at Redbird Arena. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m.
