St. LOUIS, Mo. — Three Missouri State players were honored Wednesday on the Missouri Valley Conference’s postseason women’s basketball teams. Liza Fruendt was a first-team all-MVC selection, Lexi Hughes was an honorable mention choice, and Alexa Willard landed on the all-Freshman Team.
MSU’s 34th first-team all-MVC performer in 25 league seasons, Fruendt has started all 29 Missouri State games and averages 16.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists. In MVC games, the junior guard boosted her averages to 18.2 points, 6.0 boards and 2.7 assists as the only player to rank in the top 12 in each category.
A native of Batavia, Ill., Fruendt has scored in double figures in 25 of 29 games, including a 46-point outburst at 22nd-ranked Drake on March 2, the fifth-best total in school history behind only Jackie Stiles. She has led MSU in scoring 20 times, and had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Evansville on Feb. 12. Her 66 3-pointers also rank third in the MVC.
Hughes ranks second in the team in scoring at 9.5 points per game while leading the Lady Bears in 3-point percentage (.361) and assists (78). The senior guard averages 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in league games, starting all 18 contests and shooting 38 percent from long range.
The Kansas City product owns 13 double-figure scoring games this season, including 22-point efforts in home-state games at Kansas and Wichita State. She is among the MVC’s top six players in assists, 3-point percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Willard is one of 10 true freshmen in school history to start at least 29 games, and averages 8.2 points and 3.9 rebounds on 44 percent shooting for the year. In league games, the Lebanon, Mo., native bumped her production to 9.6 points and 4.3 boards while maintaining her top-15 MVC ranking in shooting accuracy.
The rookie guard scored in double figures 11 times this season, including a streak of eight consecutive games from Dec. 19-Jan. 22 that served as the longest by an MSU freshman since Casey Garrison had a 15-game streak in 2008-09.
The Lady Bears (16-13, 12-6 MVC) are the No. 3 seed at this week’s MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill., and open play on Friday at 8:30 p.m. against sixth-seeded Evansville.
