PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley women's basketball announced its annual award winners at the team's annual postseason banquet which was held Saturday afternoon at the Lariat Steakhouse. The awards were voted on by the coaches and student-athletes following the team's season which culminated in the first postseason appearance in program history.
Collecting two honors was senior co-captain Jenny Van Kirk (Waconia, Minn./Waconia), who was named the squad's Most Valuable Player in addition to garnering the Positive Mental Attitude Award. Van Kirk was fourth on the team in scoring at 6.3 points per game and was second on the team in rebounding at 5.0 boards per game. A two-time Division I-AAA National Scholar-Athlete and two-time ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V pick she was the only player to start all 31 games and was a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
Earning the team's Defensive Player of the Year award was junior forward Sonya Harris (Riverdale, Ill./Thornton). The 2009-10 Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Harris led the Valley in blocked shots per game (2.0 bpg) and ranked second in the league in rebounding at 9.9 boards per contest. A two-time MVC All-Defensive team selection, her 308 rebounds on the year broke the previous school season mark and ranks as the 16th best season total in conference history.
Sophomore guard Hanna Muegge (Hopkins, Minn./Hopkins) was selected as the team's Most Improved Player. In 30 games as a freshman in 2008-09 she averaged 2.4 points and 0.8 rebounds while playing an average of 10.7 minutes per game. Muegge played a total of 14 minutes in the first eight games of the season, before emerging as a starter where she helped the Braves to an 11-5 record in her 16 games in the starting five. In Missouri Valley Conference games she averaged 6.9 points per game and was shooting a league-best 50 percent from three-point range in conference play before tearing her anterior cruciate ligament during the second half of BU's game at Illinois State on Feb. 25.
Freshman guard Olivia Allen (Kildeer, Ill./Lake Zurich) was given the award for the team's best free throw percentage, shooting 80.8 percent from the charity stripe in her first season on The Hilltop and made 11 of her last 12 free throw attempts to conclude the season.
Fellow freshman Brooke Bisping (Morton, Ill./Morton) was the recipient of the team's Hustle Award. Bisping provided a spark off the bench most of the season, averaging 3.0 points and shooting 36.7 percent from three-point range. She had two points, two rebounds, three steals and two assists in the second half at Drake; including an assist on Sonya Harris' game-winning three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining, to help Bradley erase an eight-point second-half deficit.
The Service Award was given to Bradley Hall of Famer Joe Stowell. A former coach of both the women's and men's basketball teams he has served as the analyst on Bradley Women's Basketball games on WMBD and WIRL for many years. In addition to his radio work, he as a team captain during the women's basketball season ticket campaign and has often provided advice to the coaching staff throughout the years.
The Braves finished the year with a 17-14 overall and advanced to a postseason tournament for the first time in program history after receiving a bid to the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational. Bradley posted a 69-59 victory at Louisville in the opening round before suffering a 76-66 loss at College of Charleston in the WBI quarterfinals. In addition to tying school records for conference victories (12-6) and best league finish (tied for third), the Braves finished the year with back-to-back winning records for the first time since 1985-86 and 1986-87.
