ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Senior Leah Kassing (Mt. Sterling, Ill./Brown County) was named a Second-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and freshman Shronda Butts (Des Moines, Iowa/East) was voted to the Valley's five-member All-Freshman team, announced by the league office Wednesday.
Bradley's leading scorer and rebounder this season, Kassing is one of two players in the Missouri Valley Conference to rank among the top 10 in the league in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots. She owns career-best averages of 13.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game and earned MVC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 5.
The first BU player with 400 points, 200 rebounds and 25 blocks in a season, Kassing's 10 double-doubles is third in the MVC this season and tied for the third best season total in school history. She is just the third Brave in the last 20 years to score more points during their senior season than their first three years combined on The Hilltop. Kassing's 235 rebounds this year is the ninth-highest season total in school history and she ranks sixth in career field goal percentage at Bradley.
Butts is a three-time MVC Newcomer of the Week selection this season and ranks fifth on the squad in scoring (7.2 ppg) after highlighting Bradley's road win at Missouri State Saturday with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. She also ranks third on the team in assists (1.9 apg) and steals (1.1 spg).
Averaging 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and owning a 2.13 assist-to-turnover ratio over the final five games of the regular season, Butts has the most made free throws (56) by a Bradley freshman since Raisa Taylor made 62 as a frosh in 2007-08 and her 57 assists ranks as the most by a Bradley rookie since Jen Brown dished out 119 assists in 2003-04.
Kassing is the first Bradley player to earn first or second team all-conference honors since Monica Rogers was a first-team selection in 2008-09. Butts is the ninth BU individual to take home Valley all-freshman team honors and the first since Katie Yohn in 2009-10.
Bradley faces Southern Illinois in the opening round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, Thursday at 4 p.m. in St. Charles, Mo.
