St. LOUIS -- Missouri State's Kenzie Williams and Liza Fruendt were recognized Tuesday (March 8) with spots on the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team. Williams is a first-team selection for a third consecutive season, while Fruendt earned a place on the second team.

Only the third Lady Bear, along with Jackie Stiles and Lisa Davies, to earn first-team honors three times, Williams maintains a 3.85 cumulative grade point average in elementary education.

The senior guard from Mt. Vernon averages 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game for MSU this season, and ranks among the MVC's top 10 in scoring, assists, steals, 3-pointers, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage. She has scored at least 10 points in 22 games while topping the 20-point plateau on five occasions to go with a team-high 53 3-pointers. Williams has 86 double-figure scoring efforts and nineteen 20-point games to her credit in her career.

A two-time MVC Player of the Week selection this season and five-time winner in her career, Williams currently ranks eighth in school history with 1,587 points, and is one of three players in MSU history with 1,000 career points, 500 rebounds, 200 steals, 200 assists and 50 blocked shots. She also ranks among Missouri State's career leaders in 3-pointers (6th - 174), free throws (10th - 337), steals (10th - 204), blocks (14th - 51), assists (16th - 309) and rebounds (22nd - 547).

Fruendt earns a spot on the second team with a 3.78 GPA in administrative management. The Batavia, Ill., native averages 10.9 points and 2.9 rebounds this season, and ranks second in the MVC in scoring among non-starters. She is on pace to become the ninth player in school history to average double figures as both a freshman and sophomore, and already ranks 16th in school history with 91 career 3-pointers.

The sophomore guard has also made 3-pointers on MSU's final possession to send two games to overtime this season, doing so Feb. 5 at UNI and Feb. 12 against Loyola. She ranks second on the team with 50 triples and has scored at least 10 points in 16 games with a high of 25 at Ole Miss on Nov. 19.

Missouri State is 21-9 overall and tied for second in the final MVC standings with a 14-4 record. The third-seeded Lady Bears open conference tournament play against No. 6 Indiana State at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill.

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
Caitlin Ingle, Drake
Rishonda Napier, Southern Illinois
Kim Nebo, Southern Illinois
Madison Weekly, UNI (MVP)
Kenzie Williams, Missouri State

Second Team
Rangie Bessard, Wichita State
Maddy Dean, Drake
Kelsey Dirks, Indiana State
Liza Fruendt, Missouri State
Diamond Lockhart, Wichita State

Honorable Mention
Stephanie Davison, UNI
Emma Donahue, Drake
Kylie Giebelhausen, Southern Illinois
Jen Keitel, UNI
Rhagen Smith, Indiana State
Amber Sorenson, UNI