ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Junior forward Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) was named a second-team Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete selection and was one of three Bradley women's basketball players recognized by the MVC announced by the league office Tuesday. Senior Kelly Krumwiede (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) and junior Skye Johnson (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) both received honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete recognition for the second consecutive year.
Enrolled in Bradley's Individualized Major Program (pre-med), Van Kirk owns a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average. She is the first Bradley women's basketball player to earn first or second-team MVC Scholar-Athlete honors since Genny Mueller was a first-team selection in 2004-05.
A team co-captain, Van Kirk was a second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V selection this year and is averaging 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. One of four players on the roster with more assists than turnovers this season, she has started 19 of 29 games and is fourth on the team in minutes played (23.6 per game). Van Kirk is also third on the squad in rebounding (4.0 rpg), assists (1.8 apg) and steals (1.0 spg).
She was one of 10 recipients of the MVC Good Neighbor Award this winter and is a three-time Bradley Country Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week pick this season. Van Kirk has been named to the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll all five semesters on The Hilltop and was selected as the 2007-08 Carl Grose Service Award winner, given annually to recognize a student-athlete who is committed to volunteerism on campus and in the local community.
Krumwiede is Bradley's active career leader in both scoring and rebounding. One of the 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, she is ninth all-time at Bradley in rebounding with 608 career boards. Krumwiede has started seven games this season and is averaging 3.0 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. She is one of 10 players in school history with 700 points and 600 rebounds in a career and her 117 games played in second in school history.
A Business Management and Administration major, she boasts a 3.82 cumulative grade point average and has been named to the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll all seven semesters. A 2007-08 selection for the MVC Good Neighbor Award, Krumwiede has earned honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete recognition each of the last two years and is a member of the Braves Council.
The first player in Missouri Valley Conference history with 150 assists, 30 blocks and 50 steals in a season, Johnson is a repeat honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete. She is second in the MVC in assists (6.6 apg) and also ranks among the conference leaders in blocks (1.3 bpg) and steals (2.3 spg). The 2007-08 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, she is fourth on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game and was named the MVC Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 8.
A Physical Therapy major, Johnson has a 3.32 cumulative grade point average and has been named the Bradley Country Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week three times this season. She ranks eighth in career assists at Bradley and her 184 assists this season are the most by a Bradley player since 1981-82. Johnson was named to the All-Tournament Team at the NAU Thanksgiving Classic and has earned a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll six of her seven semesters on The Hilltop.
Bradley (20-9 overall, 11-7 MVC) returns to action Friday at 2:30 p.m. when the Braves face Indiana State in the quarterfinals of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Charles, Mo.
