PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Michelle Young (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) earned First-Team Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete honors for the second consecutive year and sophomore Whitney Tinjum (Stacy, Minn./Chisago Lakes/Washington State) was an honorable mention selection according to an announcement by the league office Tuesday.
The team's top scorer at 12.1 points per game, Young is one of three repeat First-Team Valley Scholar-Athletes and is the first two-time First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete on The Hilltop since Genny Mueller in 2003-04 & 2004-05. Young, who also earned second-team honors as a sophomore, joins Heather Best (1995-99) as the only three-time First or Second-team Valley Scholar-Athlete in program history.
On pace to become the first player since Shelli Braud to lead the team in scoring and steals in back-to-back seasons, Young is fourth in the Valley in free throw percentage at 79.1 percent and also ranks fourth in steals at 2.1 per game. She currently ranks 13th in career scoring at Bradley with 1,053 points and ranks among the top 10 in school history in both made free throws (7th - 275) and steals (T9th - 186). Young joined Braud as the only players in school history with 1,000 points, 275 made free throws, 120 assists and 185 or more steals. An elementary education major, Young owns a 3.87 cumulative grade point average.
Tinjum is second on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game and led the Braves in scoring in Valley games at 10.9 points per contest. A mid-year transfer from Washington State last year, Tinjum is third on the squad in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game and is shooting 84 percent from the line, while averaging a team-high 4.5 free throw attempts per game.
An advertising major with a 3.41 cumulative grade point average, Tinjum was the first Bradley player to score in double figures in their first five games since Michelle Nason in 1993-94 and was the 11th player in program history to score 200 points in their first 17 games or fewer. Since making her debut Dec. 18 against Chicago State, Tinjum has scored eight or more points in 16 of 21 outings.
Bradley, which has a league-high 14 Valley Scholar-Athlete picks over the last four seasons, has had a First-Team Valley Scholar-Athlete in four consecutive years and five of the last six seasons.
The criteria for the scholar-athlete team balloting parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves, have played at least 75-percent of a team's games, and must carry at least a 3.20 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). Student-athletes must also have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at the institution.
Bradley will open the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday at 4 p.m. against #9 seed Loyola at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The winner will advance to Friday's noon quarterfinal to face #1 seed Wichita State.
