ST. LOUIS -- Four Missouri State Lady Bears were named to 2010-11 All-Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball post-season teams Wednesday, headlined by Casey Garrison’s third straight First-Team All-MVC selection. Additionally, Christiana Shorter was a second-team pick, while Tia Mays was tabbed for the league’s All-Defensive team, and Karly Buer earned a spot on the All-Freshman squad.
Garrison’s selection to the first team marks the 21st time in the last 22 seasons a Lady Bear has been chosen for the Valley’s top team. The junior guard becomes just the 18th three-time first-team honoree in Valley history and the fifth Lady Bear to accomplish the feat. A Bolivar, Mo., native, Garrison joins all-time greats Jackie Stiles, Kerri Koch, Melody Howard and Jenni Lingor on the elite list, and will enter her senior season with the opportunity to become just the sixth MVC player to earn four first-team citations.
Garrison racked up four Valley Player of the Week honors this season, and her .910 free throw percentage is fifth among all Division I players entering this week’s State Farm MVC Tournament. The reigning MVC Player of the Year led the Lady Bears in scoring (18.4 ppg) and assists (3.4 apg), ranking second and fourth in the conference, respectively, during regular-season play. She has also rates among the Valley’s top 10 individuals in three-point field goal percentage (2nd), assist-turnover ratio (3rd), steals (7th), minutes-played (8th) and offensive rebounding (9th). Furthermore, her streak of 37 consecutive free throws made (Dec. 5-Jan. 21) is the fifth-longest in MVC history.
The Lady Bears top scoring threat on the interior, Shorter was named to the Valley’s second team a year after picking up honorable mention All-MVC honors, as well as the league’s Freshman of the Year award. The Tulsa, Okla., product leads the MVC in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and offensive rebounding (3.3 rpg), while her 12.5 point per game scoring average is second on the club and 13th in the conference. Shorter, who was named MVC Player of the Week for the first time in her career on January 24, posted six of her nine double-doubles this year during conference play. Through just 62 games as a Lady Bear, she is already tied for fourth on MSU’s career double-double list with 17.
Mays earned a spot on the Valley’s All-Defensive squad after setting a school record with a league-leading 95 blocked shots during the regular season. The Des Moines, Iowa, product owns eight of Missouri State’s top 15 single-game block totals, including a conference record-tying nine-block day against Arkansas State (Dec. 5). Mays enters the tournament third on both the MVC’s single-season and MSU’s career blocked shot lists. The 6-1 post also turned in a streak of 17 consecutive games of five rebounds or more and currently ranks second in the MVC in offensive rebounding (2.5 rpg).
For the fourth straight year, a Lady Bear earned a spot on the conference’s All-Freshman Team, as Buer picked up that honor after starting 20 of MSU’s 30 regular-season contests and averaging 4.6 points per outing. Buer enjoyed immediate success for MSU, recording three consecutive double-digit scoring efforts n November. A Concrodia, Kan., native, she posted the third-highest assist total (43) on the club and connected on 37.2 percent of her three-point attempts during the regular season.
The Valley will announce the recipients of its specialty awards, including the Jackie Stiles Player of the Year, Rawling’s Coach of the Year and the Freshman, Newcomer and Defensive Players of the Year at an awards ceremony in between Games 1 and 2 of the State Farm MVC Tournament on Thursday, March 10, in St. Charles, Mo.
The third-seeded Lady Bears (21-9) will begin their quest for an unprecedented 10th MVC Tournament title when they face off against sixth-seeded Drake (15-14) Friday (March 11) at 8:35 p.m., at The Family Arena.
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