Women’s Basketball Announces Season Award Winners

Women's Basketball 4/16/2019 12:50:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Coming off the first 20-win season in a decade and the best Missouri Valley Conference finish since 2009-10, Bradley Women's Basketball and head coach Andrea Gorski recently announced the team's annual award winners at a banquet held at Bradley's Hayden-Clark Alumni Center.

Highlighting the awards were sophomore guard Gabi Haack and junior forward Chelsea Brackmann, who were named co-Most Valuable Players after the pair both garnered First-Team All-MVC honors this past season.

The leading scorer on the team at 14.9 points per game, Haack posted the best scoring average for a Brave since Sara Bailey averaged 18.0 points per outing in 2001-02 and was sixth in the MVC in scoring. Haack was also recognized for leading the team in assists, dishing out 2.3 per game as she became just the eighth individual to lead the team in both scoring and assists in program history and first to do so since Raisa Taylor in 2010-11.

In addition, Haack shot a team-best 87.7 percent from the free throw line to rank 20th in the nation. She made the seventh most free throws in a season in Bradley history, making 121 of her 138 attempts from the charity stripe and was one of 10 players in the country to make 69 or more three-pointers, 120 free throws and pull down 160 or more rebounds. In fact, Haack is one of four players in the MVC since 1995-96 to reach those marks.

The top rebounder in the MVC at 10.9 boards per game, Brackmann broke the Bradley season rebounding mark with her 327 boards ranking 10th among season marks. A member of the MVC All-Defensive team, Brackmann received the Braves Charge Award for drawing the most charges during 2018-19.

Brackmann also shared the Bradley Built Award honor, in recognition of an individual's gratitude, ownership, accountability and toughness, with honorary team member Jalene Woolford. Averaging 12.6 points per game to go with her impressive 10.9 boards per game, Brackmann collected the second-most double-doubles in school history (16) for the most by a Valley player since 2014-15 and earned the 2018-19 Bradley Belt Award.

Senior Shunseere Kent was selected as the team's Best Defensive Player. Often drawing the other team's top scorer, Kent was slowed early in the year by injuries before a late season surge in which she scored 10 or more points in six of the last seven games. She collected eight of her 21 steals on the year in the final five outings of 2018-19.

The Most Improved Award went to freshman point guard Tatum Koenig, who started the final 15 games. Koenig averaged 5.0 points and 2.2 assists per game on the year, but broke into the starting lineup for the home game against Missouri State in early January and went on to start every game down the stretch. Averaging 3.9 points and 1.5 assists per outing when she made her first start, she collected 6.1 points and 2.9 assists in the second half of the season.

In addition to the team awards, eight of 14 team members were recognized for earning a place on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll. In order to qualify for this distinction, student-athletes must be enrolled full-time (including at least 9 graded hours) and post a 3.30 semester grade point average. Earning a spot on the 2018 Fall Semester AD Honor Roll were Brackmann, Haack, Kent and Koenig along with junior Amber Bozeman, senior Vanessa Markert, freshman Ellie Spelhaug and junior Ryan Wilkins.

Print Friendly Version