NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's basketball team gathered for a private, end of the year banquet Sunday evening to celebrate the 2013-14 season. The annual event featured year-end awards.
The Redbirds finished the season with a record of 10-20 (8-10 in Valley play) and advanced to the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Championship for the second-straight season. Chloe Nelson was also named an All-Valley First Team selection for her performance during her senior campaign. It marked the eighth-straight season that a Redbird received All-Valley First Team accolades.
"It's always nice to celebrate the highs of a season," head coach Barb Smith said. "We grew so much as a basketball team this year and continued to get better as the season progressed. I'm very excited to get back in the gym with this group of women."
Six team awards were presented at the end of the year banquet. The evening started by handing out the annual Jill Hutchison Leadership Award, which is given to a player who exemplifies all of the characteristics of a Redbird women's basketball player. The award is in honor of Hutchison, the former Redbird women's coach and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame member. Nelson, who served as a team captain during the season, received the award for the second-straight season.
Kalyn Gebhardt received the Most Improved Player Award for being the player who improved the most from the start of the season. She averaged 2.8 points per game and pulled down 2.0 rebounds per game. During the Valley season, she netted 3.5 points per game and 2.4 rebounds. Gebhardt connected on 44 percent of her shot attempts, which was the second best on the team. She scored a career-high 11 points twice during her freshman season, and collected a career-high six rebounds against Loyola (Jan. 31) and was a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line twice.
The Best Offensive Player Award was given to Nelson, who ranked first on the team in scoring (13.8) with a total of 414 points. She was the only Redbird to average double figures and tallied 22 double digit scoring performances. Nelson sank 40 percent of her field goal attempts and found the bottom of the net on 78 percent of her free throw tries. After the 2013-14 campaign, Nelson is fourth on the season free throw made record list (129) and sixth on the season free throw attempts list (172). Katy Winge received the Best Defensive Player Award. She had 15 steals and three blocks, and was usually tasked with guarding the opponent's best scorer.
Nelson was given the Best Teammate Award, while Alison Seberger received the Coaches Award, which goes the student-athlete that is the most coachable and works hard on and off the court, as well as leads by example.
2013-14 Illinois State Women's Basketball Awards Jill Hutchison Leadership Award--Chloe Nelson Most Improved Player--Kalyn Gebhardt Best Offensive Player--Chloe Nelson Best Defensive Player--Katy Winge Best Teammate--Chloe Nelson Coaches Award--Alison Seberger
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