March 9, 2010
ST. LOUIS -
For the third-consecutive year, three Illinois State women's basketball players were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team, as announced by the league office Tuesday. Seniors Ashleen Bracey, Maggie Krick and Nicolle Lewis were all honored for their academic and athletic achievements during the season.
Krick was named to the first team for the first time and earned her third-career honor, after being named second team in each of the last two seasons. She leads the Redbirds in assists (110), is second in scoring (14.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.0 rpg) and three-point field goals (34). A business education major with a 3.82 cumulative grade-point average (GPA), Krick was a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V First-Team selection this season, her third-consecutive honor.
Bracey, a second-team selection, received the second honor of her career. She leads the Redbirds in scoring (15.3 ppg), rebounding (7.8 rpg), free throw percentage (.918) and steals (35). She won three Prairie Farms MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards this season. Bracey has a 3.44 cumulative GPA in criminal justice sciences.
Lewis was named to the honorable mention team for the second-consecutive season and the third time in the last four years. She leads Illinois State in field goal percentage (.560) and blocks (57), and ranks second in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and third in scoring (11.6 ppg). Lewis has a 3.65 cumulative GPA as a sports management graduate student.
The criteria for the scholar-athlete team balloting parallels the CoSIDA standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves, have played in at least 75 percent of a team's games, and must carry at least a 3.20 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).
Student-athletes must also have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at the institution.
A total of 30 Valley student-athletes met the nomination criteria for scholar-athlete honors in 2010.
