St. LOUIS - Missouri State's Kenzie Williams was honored Tuesday (March 10) as the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in women's basketball, in conjunction with the release of the league's Scholar-Athlete teams.

Williams, who is on the first team for a second consecutive season, joins Lacey Boshe (2012) as the only Lady Bears to win the prestigious honor. The fourth-year junior maintains a 3.82 cumulative grade point average in elementary education.

Williams leads the Lady Bears (16-13, 13-5 MVC) in scoring at 15.8 points per game, including a 16.1 average on 46 percent field goal shooting in conference games. She also averages 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals, while ranking among the league's top 15 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, assists, steals, free throw percentage, 3-pointers per game and 3-point percentage.

The MVC Player of the Week on Dec. 15, Williams has scored in double figures in 25 of MSU's 29 games this season with seven outings of 20 points or more. The Mt. Vernon, Mo., native joined the school's 1,000-point club in February, currently ranking 19th on the career scoring list with 1,120 points.

The criteria for the MVC's Scholar-Athlete Team voting parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Capital One Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average (4.0 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen were not eligible), must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution and must have played in 75 percent of their team's games.

First Team

Kenzie Williams, Missouri State (MVP)

Brooke Brown, UNI

Caitlin Ingle, Drake

Kelsey Jacobs, Wichita State

Madison Weekly, UNI

Michelle Young, Bradley

Second Team

Alie Decker, Wichita State

Liza Heap, Drake

Mallory Ladd, Evansville

Rishonda Napier, Southern Illinois

Katy Winge, Illinois State

Honorable Mention

Stephanie Davison, UNI

Khristian Hart, Evansville

Alyssa Johnson, UNI

Whitney Tinjum, Bradley