Missouri State junior forward Maggie Dwyer has been named the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year for women’s basketball, the league announced Thursday (March 13) afternoon. Dwyer was selected for the honor by the league’s coaches, media representatives and sports information directors to become the sixth Lady Bear to earn the Valley’s yearly award for top newcomer.

Dwyer, who was named to the All-MVC Second Team on Wednesday, is the first Missouri State player to earn a Valley specialty award since Jenni Lingor picked up the conference’s most valuable player honor in 2005. Dwyer joins Nanne Jackson, Roshonda Reed, Yen Quach, Meg Tierney and K.C. Cowgill on the list of Lady Bears to be named MVC Newcomer of the Year.

A transfer from Michigan State University, Dwyer leads Missouri State in scoring with a 13.6 ppg. average, good for eighth overall in the MVC. A Grand Haven, Mich., product, Dwyer has scored in double figures in 22 contests this season, including a stretch of 13 straight double-digit efforts en route to racking up four MVC Newcomer of the Week honors during the regular season. She has also been one of the strongest Lady Bears on the glass, averaging 5.2 boards per contest to rank second on the squad.

The fifth-seeded Lady Bears will open play in the 2008 State Farm MVC Tournament with a quarterfinal round matchup against the No. 4 seed, Creighton, at 2:35 p.m., Friday, March 14, at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.