ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Senior forward Leti Lerma (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine) has been named one of 10 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Good Neighbor Award Winter recipients according to a recent announcement by the league office.
 
A First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection this season, Lerma led the Valley in rebounding at 10.8 boards per game and pulled down a school season record 324 rebounds.  She paced Bradley in scoring at 11.7 points per game and collected a league-best 13 double-doubles in 2016-17, which ranks as the second-best season total in school history. 
 
Lerma finished her career as Bradley's all-time leading rebounder and is tied for 20th in MVC history with 844 career boards.  She earned a spot on the MVC's All-Defensive team to become just the third player in program history to earn First-Team All-Valley and MVC All-Defensive team honors in the same season. 
 
Through Sunday's games Lerma was 10th in the nation in rebounding and was just the third MVC player in the last 30 years to collect 350 points, 320 rebounds, 60 assists, 15 blocks and 40 or more steals. 
 
A psychology major with a 3.16 cumulative grade point average, Lerma was a four-time Bradley COUNTRY Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week selection this season and has earned the distinction seven times in her career.  She has been named to the Bradley AD Honor Roll six of her seven semesters in addition to earning a spot on the MVC Honor Roll in 2016. 
 
A two-year representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Lerma has been active in the community; taking part in the Braves Council's pen pal program to mentor area elementary school children.  She has also volunteered at the Walk to Defeat ALS, the Small Wonders Miracle Walk and the Buddy Walk to benefit the National Down Syndrome Society.  In addition, she assisted with her team's volunteer efforts this past summer with the Mega Sports Camp at St. Paul Baptist Church, where the Braves assisted with basketball and soccer instruction for area children along with speaking to participants about dealing with adversity and being game changers in both life and sports.
 
In order to be eligible for the award, the student-athlete must be in good academic standing, demonstrate good citizenship through good sportsmanship and significant community service, and participate in a sport, during the season of recognition.  The Valley will recognize 10 student-athletes three times annually (fall, winter, spring), for a total of 30 honorees.