ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- For the second time in three weeks the Bradley women's basketball team swept the weekly Missouri Valley Conference awards, with sophomore guard Kelsey Budd (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) earning Valley Player of the Week honors and freshman Shronda Butts (Des Moines, Iowa/East) taking home the MVC Newcomer of the Week award for the second time this year announced Monday afternoon.
The duo helped Bradley to a 96-88 victory against Iowa Saturday at Renaissance Coliseum in the Braves' first home victory against a Big Ten Conference opponent since Dec. 3, 1999.
Budd earned Valley Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career and Bradley has multiple player of the week selections in the same season for the first time since 2008-09. Butts also earned Valley Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 5 and is the first BU player to earn the award twice in a season since Katie Yohn (2009-10).
Pacing five Bradley players in double figures, Budd turned in one of the most efficient scoring efforts in school history. She made 12-of-14 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, and finished with a career-best 31 points. Budd entered the game with a career high of 12 points and was averaging 4.5 points per game on the year, before turning in the best scoring effort by a Bradley reserve since Shelli Braud scored 32 points off the bench at Missouri State on Feb. 18, 1988.
After a 19-point first half in which she hit 8-of-9 shots, Budd helped the Braves blow open a two-point game early in the second half with 11 points, two assists and a steal during a nine-minute stretch which saw BU extend the lead to 19 points. She also pulled down a career-high six rebounds and matched a career-best with four steals to help highlight the win.
Not to be outdone, Butts scored a season-high 18 points and also had three boards, four assists and two steals against the Hawkeyes. She collected 13 points and three assists in the second half, tallying eight points and two assists during a 34-17 BU spurt which gave the Braves a 74-55 lead midway through the second half.
Butts, who started a home game for the first time in her career Saturday against Iowa, has been in the starting five each of the last four games and has helped the Braves to four consecutive victories. She joined Yohn (three-time selection), Michelle Lund (three-time selection) and Sonya Harris (two-time) as the only multiple Valley Newcomer of the Week honorees in program history.
Bradley returns to action Wednesday, continuing a season-long, four-game home stand with 7 p.m. game against Western Illinois. In support of the PCCEO Peoria Area Food Bank, fans can donate two canned food items for free admission to Wednesday's game against the Leathernecks.
