March 11, 2009
Official MVC Release
ST. LOUIS - The All-Missouri Valley Conference teams were announced Wednesday and Illinois State senior guard Kristi Cirone, junior guard Maggie Krick and redshirt junior center Nicolle Lewis were among the players honored. Cirone was a first-team selection and was named to the all-defensive team for the third-consecutive year. Krick and Lewis were both named to the second team.
Cirone became the first Illinois State women's basketball player to receive All-Valley honors all four years of her career. She was an honorable mention pick as a freshman and was named to the first team the last three seasons. Cirone joins Carla Bennett (Drake), Melanie Boeglin (Indiana State), Wanda Ford (Drake), Kari Koch (Missouri State) and Jackie Stiles (Missouri State) as the only four-time all-conference picks in Valley history. She is the third Redbird to earn three-straight first-team honors, joining Cindy Kaufmann (1989-91) and Jenny Schmidt (1997-99).
Cirone was also named to the Valley All-Defensive Team for the third-straight year. She is the 10th player to be on the team three-straight years since its inception in 1996.
Cirone won her first Valley scoring title with an average of 18.7 points per game, scoring in double-figures in 26 of ISU's 30 games this year. She ranked in the top-five in seven different Valley statistical categories, including leading the league in scoring, three-point field goal percentage (.438) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.60). She was even more impressive in conference play, averaging 19.0 points, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
Krick received All-Valley honors for the second-consecutive year after being honored as an honorable mention pick last season. She is second on ISU in scoring (12.6 ppg), field goals (129), three-pointers (45) and assists (82). Her 80.8 free throw percentage leads the team and ranked third in the Valley this season. Krick made a three-pointer in 24 of the 29 games she played during the regular season, including the last 11.
Lewis is back on the All-Valley squad for the second time in her career. She was an honorable mention pick in 2007. She is ISU's third-leading scorer (10.3 ppg) and leads the Redbirds in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and blocks (71). She ranked second in the conference in blocks (2.4 bpg), fifth in rebounding and free throw percentage (.793) and sixth in field goal percentage (.488). Lewis recorded five double-doubles on the year and became Illinois State's all-time lead in blocked shots.
Krick and Lewis are the first All-Valley Second-Team selections since Holly Hallstrom received the award in 2005.
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