ST. LOUIS, MO. ? The Drake women's basketball team continued to pull in the accolades after its first regular season Missouri Valley Conference title since 2001 as the league announced on Wednesday (March 12) that Bulldog seniors Jill Martin (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) and Lindsay Whorton (Independence, Mo./Truman) have been tabbed as 2008 All-MVC first team selections.
Martin becomes the fourth three-time recipient of first team honors in Drake history joining Wanda Ford (1983, 84, 85), Jan Jensen (1989, 90, 91) and Carla Bennett (2000, 01, 02, 03). Whorton made the top squad for the first time after pulling in honorable mention laurels a year ago.
Joining the Bulldog duo of the first team are Evansville's Rebekah Parker, Illinois State's Kristi Cirone, Indiana State's Laura Rudolphi and Creighton's Ally Thrall.
Having started all 29 games this season, Martin is leading the Bulldogs with a team- and league-high 17.1 points per game, while pulling down a team-best 8.8 rebounds. She ranks among the MVC leaders in six categories. She has posted double-figures in scoring and rebounds 27 and 12 times, respectively this season. Her 12 double doubles lead the MVC this year, while she is the active conference leader in career double-doubles with 38. She has cracked double-digits in scoring 103 times as a Bulldog and has played in 123 contests, including 120 starts.
Whorton has started all 29 games for Drake this year and is averaging 14.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. She is the career leader at Drake in three-pointers with 254, which also places her as the active leader in the MVC in career triples for both men's and women's basketball. She has cracked double-digits in scoring 79 times as a Bulldog and has played in 120 contests, including 117 starts.
Drake opens defense of the 2007 State Farm MVC Tournament crown on Friday (March 14) as the third-seeded Bulldogs battle sixth-seeded Indiana State at 8:35 p.m. in the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
First Team
^Kristi Cirone, Illinois State, Jr., G
^^Jill Martin, Drake, Sr., F
^Rebekah Parker, Evansville, Sr., G/F
*Laura Rudolphi, Indiana State, Sr., C
!Ally Thrall, Creighton, Sr., G
!Lindsay Whorton, Drake, Sr., G
^2006-07 First Team; *2006-07 Second Team; !2006-07 Honorable Mention
^^ 2005-06 & 2004-05 First Team
Second Team
^Tahnee Balerio, Missouri State, Sr., G
Sara Cain, Creighton, Sr., F
Maggie Dwyer, Missouri State, Jr., G/F
Jacqui Kalin, UNI, Fr., G
Shannon Novosel, Evansville, Jr., C
^2006-07 First Team; *2006-07 Second Team; !2006-07 Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
!Courtney Felke, Evansville, Sr., G
Maggie Krick, Illinois State, So., G
Angela Phillips, Indiana State, Sr., G
Kiki Stephens, Wichita State, Sr., F
Tiff Terwelp, Missouri State, Sr., F
^2006-07 First Team; *2006-07 Second Team; !2006-07 Honorable Mention
All-Defensive
Ashley Austin, Evansville, Jr., G
^Kristi Cirone, Illinois State, Jr., G
Skye Johnson, Bradley, So., G
Laura Rudolphi, Indiana State, Sr., C
Erica Smith, Southern Illinois, Jr., G/F
^2006-07 All-Defensive Team
All-Freshman
Marisha Brown, Missouri State, Fr., G
Shala Jackson, Illinois State, Fr., G/F
Jacqui Kalin, UNI, Fr., G
Kelsey Woodard, Creighton, Fr., G
Ellen Young, Southern Illinois, Fr., G
Specialty Awards
Jackie Stiles Player of the Year ? TBA Thursday, March 13
Freshman of the Year ? TBA Thursday, March 13
Newcomer of the Year ? TBA Thursday, March 13
Defensive Player of the Year ? TBA Thursday, March 13
Rawlings Coach of the Year ? TBA Thursday, March 13
