ST LOUIS – For the second time this season, Illinois State guard Shannon Dowell earned MVC Freshman of the Week honors, as announced by the league office on Tuesday. Dowell put up her first two collegiate performances of 20-plus points last week on the road at Southern Illinois and Missouri State.
She averaged 26.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists across two games last week, putting up the first outings of 20-plus points in her college career. She opened the week with a 25-point, 10-rebound performance in a win over Southern Illinois that marked her second-career double-double. Dowell followed it up with 28 points at Missouri State on Saturday, which is tied for the second-highest scoring output by a true freshman in the MVC this season. Dowell shot 22-for-32 (68.8%) from the field across the two performances, including an impressive 12-for-15 (80.0%) at Missouri State on Saturday.
Dowell is the first MVC true freshman since 2017 to put up 25+ points and 10+ rebounds in a single game. She is the second Redbird true freshman in the Kristen Gillespie era to register a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, joining Lexy Koudelka's 20 points and 10 rebounds in 2019 at Bradley. Her 25 points are the most by a true freshman for Illinois State in the Kristen Gillespie era.
Dowell is the only freshman in the MVC this year to put up 25-plus points in consecutive games. Her 53 total points were the most by any MVC player last week, ranking 6th nationally and first among all DI true freshman. Her 26.5 points per game led the Valley, ranked 7th in DI and was first among all DI true freshmen. Dowell's mark of 68.8 percent last week from the field was fifth in the Valley and second among all DI true freshmen.
It marks the second time Dowell has earned MVC Freshman of the Week, after she became the first Redbird to ever earn the award, one that was introduced by the league office prior to the start of this season, with her recognition Dec. 27.
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