Jan. 26, 2009
ST. LOUIS -
A historic week led Illinois State senior guard Kristi Cirone to her third Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week award Monday, as announced by the league office. It was the ninth honor of Cirone's career, putting her in a tie for the third-most all-time with Indiana State's Melanie Boeglin.
Cirone averaged 18.7 points, 6.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals in three Redbird wins last week to extend their winning streak to four games. She shot a blistering 60 percent from the field, including 66.7 percent from three-point range, and was 14-of-15 from the free throw line.
Cirone notched 20 points, eight rebounds and tied her season-high with nine assists against Missouri State. She had 18 points and six assists against Evansville. During that game, she moved into first place in career assists at Illinois State and became the second player in school history to surpass 200-career three-pointers. Cirone capped the week with 18 points and five assists against Southern Illinois
The three MVC Player of the Week awards won by Cirone are the most in the Valley and she is the only multiple winner this season. Missouri State's Jackie Stiles collected 18 MVC Player of the Week awards in her career, the most ever, followed by Drake's Wanda Ford (10).
The Redbirds (15-4, 6-1 MVC) are on the road Friday night to take on Bradley (13-5, 4-3 MVC) at Illinois Central College's Ramsey Gymnasium at 7 p.m.
