ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Missouri State freshman Casey Garrison received yet another honor Thursday (March 12), picking up the Missouri Valley Conference's Freshman of the Year award at the league's postseason banquet. The award for Garrison comes a day after the Bolivar, Mo., product was named First-Team All-MVC, becoming the 20th Lady Bear to receive the honor.
Garrison is the sixth Lady Bear to earn the conference’s rookie of the year honor, joining an elite group that includes Secelia Winkfield (1990), Roshonda Reed (1996), Jackie Stiles (1998), Jenni Lingor (2002) and Kari Koch (2003).
Garrison’s 462 points is the 24th-best total in Missouri State history, while her 15.9 ppg. scoring average is the second-highest mark for a true freshman in all of Division I women’s basketball. Last weekend, the 5-11 guard became the Lady Bears’ No. 2 freshman scorer since MSU made the move to Division I status in 1982. Garrison, who was also named to the league’s All-Freshman Team, passed Kari Koch (456) for the second spot on the list with her 14-point effort in the Lady Bears’ regular-season finale at UNI last Saturday, and trails only NCAA Division I scoring leader Jackie Stiles, who poured home 618 points during the 1997-98 campaign.
A four-time MVC Newcomer of the Week honoree, Garrison is also the school’s second-leading freshman shot-blocker (0.8 bpg.) and enters the tournament among MSU’s all-time top five freshmen in assists (3.1 apg.) and rebounds (6.1 rpg.) as well. She is on target to become the first Lady Bear freshman to lead MSU in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocked shots over a complete season. She has led MSU in scoring 20 times, assists 16 times, steals 13 times and rebounds 12 times.
Other Valley award winners included former Lady Bear and current Bradley head coach Paula Buscher, who was named Rawling’s MVC Coach of the Year after guiding her club to a school-record 20 wins and a fourth-place conference finish. Illinois State’s Kristi Cirone was tabbed Jackie Stiles Player of the Year for the third consecutive year, joining Stiles as the league’s only three-time MVP. Additionally, UNI’s Kim Wypiszynski was named MVC Newcomer of the Year, and Creighton’s Megan Neuvirth was chosen as MVC Defensive Player of the Year.
Missouri State (10-19, 6-12 MVC) enters the State Farm MVC Tournament as the No. 7 seed and will square off against 10th-seeded Wichita State this evening (March 12) in the opening round of the meet at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
