ST. LOUIS – Sara Rhine of the Drake University women's basketball team has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive year, the MVC announced Tuesday, March 10. Rhine is the first MVC student-athlete to win the top scholar award three times.
 
Rhine is joined on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team by Becca Hittner, who is on the first team for the third straight year. Junior Maddie Monahan earned her first MVC scholar-athlete accolade by being named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team.
 
Hittner and Rhine are the first Bulldogs chosen to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team three times since their former teammate Caitlin Ingle (2015-17) accomplished the feat. Hittner, Ingle and Rhine join Tricia Wakely (1994-96) and Lindsay Whorton (2006-08) as the only Drake women's basketball student-athletes named to three MVC Scholar-Athlete First Teams.
 
On Monday, Hittner and Rhine were selected to the 2019-20 Academic All-America teams selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Hittner holds a 3.97 grade point average in marketing and is also a data analytics minor. Rhine, who has already graduated with her bachelor's degree in elementary education, owns a 4.00 GPA in Drake's master of counseling program after having a 4.00 GPA in her undergraduate program.

Monahan, who has started 96 consecutive games in her career, is averaging 8.8 points and 4.2 assists per game. Both totals are career highs, and her assists mark ranks fourth in the Valley. Monahan holds a 3.91 GPA in data analytics.
 
No. 2 Drake starts the MVC Tournament Friday at 6 p.m. inside the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill., against Thursday's winner between No. 7 Southern Illinois and No. 10 Evansville.