HOPEWELL, N.J. – Lady Bear seniors Brice Calip and Jasmine Franklin are among 25 members of the preseason watch list for the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats, it was announced today.
Missouri State was one of three schools that had multiple players selected to the watch list and the Missouri Valley Conference led all conferences with four players on the list.
Calip, a sixth-year senior, ranked 10th in the nation and led the Missouri Valley Conference with a 2.82 assist-to-turnover ratio last season, after committing just 38 turnovers on the year. The senior guard is the reigning MVC Player of the Year and was selected by MVC media and coaches to repeat as the top player in the conference in 2021-22.
The Sapulpa, Okla., native paced the Lady Bears last season with 13.3 points per game, 31.8 minutes per game, and 107 assists on the year. Calip is also a two-time first team all-MVC and MVC All-Defensive team selection (2020, 2021). Last season, she racked up 100 defensive rebounds, 56 steals and 10 blocks on the defensive side of the ball.
Franklin, a senior forward, ranked 25th in the country and first in the MVC last season with 253 total rebounds. She was also inside the top 50 nationally with 10 double-doubles in 2020-21. Franklin was a standout in The Valley, leading the conference in double-doubles (10), rebounds (253), and rebounds per game (9.7) on her way to being named MVC Defensive Player of the Year.
The Fayetteville, Ark., native led the Lady Bears in conference play with 13.6 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game against league opponents. Franklin is a two-time first team all-MVC selection (2020, 2021), a MVC All-Defensive team member (2021), and was named to the 2021-22 MVC Preseason All-Conference team.
Calip, Franklin and the rest of the Lady Bears squad open up the 2021-22 regular season at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at Little Rock. Missouri State's first game at JQH Arena is slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14 against North Texas. MSU has exhibition games at The Q set for Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. against Missouri Baptist and Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. versus Lincoln.
Season tickets and single-game tickets for the 16-game home schedule are available now. Questions may be directed to the Missouri State ticket office at (417) 836-7678 for single-game tickets or Duane Miller at (417) 836-8899 or DuaneMiller@missouristate.edu for season tickets.
Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for this award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award, and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. In January, 15 players will be named to the midseason watch list. The 10 semifinalists will be announced in February, with five finalists being announced in early March. The winner will be announced in late March. The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of the season.
About Becky Hammon
Hammon was a three-time All-American during her career at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, the program's only appearance to date. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 and traded to the San Antonio Stars in 2007, where she played the rest of her career.
Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree. In 2016 she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history and was recently named to the W25. Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Additionally, Hammon is the only woman to be a head coach in the NBA Summer League as well as the only woman to be a member of an NBA All-Star coaching staff.
About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
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