March 7, 2007
Missouri Valley Conference Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
NORMAL, Ill. - For just the fourth time in program history, Illinois State's women's basketball team had three players elected to the four All-Missouri Valley Conference teams. Sophomore guard Kristi Cirone added to her already impressive list of accolades by being named to the All-Valley first-team, along with garnering an all-defensive team nod; Kenyatta Shelton was named to the league's all-freshman team and sophomore Nicolle Lewis was an all-MVC honorable mention selection.
The announcement was made by the Valley office in conjunction with this weekend's (March 8-11) 2007 State Farm MVC Tournament at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa. ISU enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed after completing a 20-9 (13-5 MVC) campaign, its first 20-win tally since the 1989-90 season.
Cirone, the 2006 MVC Freshman of the Year (and all-conference honorable mention honoree), led the Valley in scoring in conference play this season, averaging 19.3 points per MVC contest. Her 5.79 assists per game (all games) led the league, and she also paced the Valley with a stellar 2.17 assist/turnover ratio in conference play. Cirone also ranked in the top-10 of the Valley in three-point field goal percentage, three-point field goals made and minutes played in conference contests. Cirone scored in double figures in all but one conference game, and scored 20 or more points 12 times on the season.
Cirone was also one of the Valley's most tenacious on-the-ball defenders. She ranked fourth in the league in steals per game (1.94) in conference play while often guarding the opposing teams' most versatile player. She tallied five individual games this season in which she recorded four or more steals. Cirone spearheaded a defensive effort that ranked Illinois State second overall in the league in defensive field goal percentage (.414).
ISU head coach Robin Pingeton was excited, but not surprised, by Cirone's election onto the Valley's all-first-team.
"You can't say enough about the development of Kristi Cirone over the past year," said Pingeton. "She worked extremely hard in the off-season to take her game to the next level and become more of a leader. She's the quarterback of our team, is a tireless worker, and a fierce competitor. Kristi has done everything we have asked of her and more this season. She's one of the most talented players in this league, and this recognition is definitely worthy."
Shelton established herself as one of the Valley's most athletic frontline players despite having to sit out seven conference games with two stress fractures in her left foot. She recorded double-doubles (points-rebounds) in five of the first nine games of her career, including a dominating, 20-point, 10-rebound performance against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 17, 2006. She received three Valley Newcomer of the Week nods in just a seven-week span. Shelton was averaging 8.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game after the first four conference league contests of the season, but was forced to sit out the next six weeks while her foot healed.
Shelton returned to the Redbird lineup on Feb. 10 at Missouri State, and recorded her first start since Jan. 8 on Feb. 23 at Bradley. She scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the game. She also tallied double-digit scoring outputs in each of the final two regular season MVC contests last weekend, chipping in 10 and 14 points, respectively, in ISU's first-ever road sweep of Drake and Creighton.
Pingeton was glad that the media and her coaching counterparts voted Shelton onto the All-Freshman team despite her limited season.
-MORE-
"Kenyatta Shelton is a tireless worker with endless potential, and we continue to see improvement in her game every day in practice and in each game she has played," Pingeton said. "This is a tremendous honor for Kenyatta considering she only played in 11 conference games. There is no doubt in my mind she is going to be one of the up and coming, premiere players in this league."
In the second half of the Valley regular season, Lewis was arguably the league's most dominating post player. While she started every conference contest, the last seven games was when Lewis shined. She scored in double figures in all of those contests, averaging 17.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Included in the stretch was a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds against Northern Iowa (Feb. 25), and her first career double-double (16 points and 10 rebounds) in the regular season finale at Creighton on Saturday.
Lewis finished the MVC regular season ranked first in blocks per game (2.00). She collected three or more blocks in 10 games this season. She is also the league leader in free throw percentage in conference play (.803).
Pingeton acknowledged that opponents are just beginning to see what Lewis' frontline presence provides for the Redbirds.
"A lot of people don't realize that this season has essentially been Nicolle's freshman year since she only played seven games last season before hurting her knee," said Pingeton. "There's no question that she is just beginning to tap her potential. Nicolle has done a great job finishing, considering she has been facing constant double and triple teams. Her ability to disrupt shots on the defensive end combined with her aggressive rebounding and finishing in the post makes her a real weapon for us. "
The second-seeded Redbirds will play either No. 7 Bradley or tenth-seeded Missouri State in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm MVC Tournament Friday (March 9) beginning at 6:05 p.m.
