INDIANAPOLIS – Lewis University senior forward Jessica Kelliher has been named the 2018-19 Great Lakes Valley Conference women's basketball Player of the Year, it was announced by the Conference office Wednesday. Drury University junior forward Daejah Bernard was selected as Defensive Player of the Year, teammate Paige Robinson garnered Freshman of the Year honors, while their head coach Molly Miller was voted by her peers as the Chuck Mallander Coach of the Year. In addition, 30 student-athletes earned All-Conference honors and five were placed on the All-Freshman team with 14 named GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award recipients.
Kelliher, now a three-time Player of the Year and a record 20-time Player of the Week in her career, became the GLVC’s all-time career scoring leader on Feb. 9 when she tallied 23 points in a 97-54 win over Southern Indiana to total 2,511; one better than the previous leader from former member Saint Joseph’s College, Angie Hupfer (1996-2000). To this point in the season, the forward is the NCAA Division II active career leader in points scored (2,670) by more than 400 over the second leading scorer. Moreover, she leads all active players in D-II with 1,055 field goals made and 772 free throw attempts, additionally being at the top of the list for players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and also finds herself in the top five for scoring average (21.7, second), field goal percentage (64.6, second), blocked shots (245, third), and rebounds (987, fifth). In addition to scoring a career-high 42 points against Maryville on Feb. 18, Kelliher registered 12 double-doubles on the year that included 21 games with 20 or more points, seven of which were 30 or better, along with a pair of 40 or more – all of which helped her lead the league in scoring with 24.4 points per game. That mark ranks sixth in D-II, while her 269 field goals made and 65.3 field-goal percentage both rank first in the league and second in the country. She was second in the loop in rebounding with 9.1 per game, but did have the most total boards at 265, and accrued a GLVC-best 3.64 per game on the offensive glass. The Waukesha, Wis., native is only the second player ever to win the award three times in a row, as former member Northern Kentucky’s Michelle Cottrell went for three-straight from 1999-2002, and becomes the sixth consecutive Flyer to earn the Conference’s top honor. Mariyah Brawner-Henley picked up the same award for the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons, while Jamie Johnson was named GLVC Player of the Year in 2014-15. Lewis has now had a standout voted as such eight times. Furthermore, the six-footer was one of three named as a unanimous All-GLVC first-team member.
This is the fourth year the league has awarded a Defensive Player of the Year laurel, and Drury’s Bernard becomes a back-to-back honoree while also joining Kelliher on the All-GLVC First Team as a unanimous pick. In 2018-19, the junior was the league leader in steals (107) and steals per game (3.82), assists (175) and assists per game (6.25), and also assist/turnover ratio (2.40). Each of those four categories is a top-10 mark in D-II, while her 107 steals is the most in the country. Additionally, Bernard’s numbers for career steals (286) and steal average (2.98) both rank third among active players in the division. This is the first time the Panthers have had a major award winner three years in a row, as teammate Hailey Diestelkamp was Freshman of the Year in 2016-17. It’s also the first time the program has earned more than one major award in the same season.
Robinson becomes Drury’s fourth player to win a major postseason award in the sport, joining the likes of Diestelkamp, Bethanie Funderburk (2010-11), and Kalea Parks (2012-13). The newcomer led the league in three-point field goals made (80) and three-point field goals made per game (2.96), was fourth in the league in scoring with 15.3 points per game, and finished third in three-point field-goal percentage (42.8). She twice drained six triples in a game during non-conference play this season and hit a perfect 8-of-8 at the foul line in the season finale against William Jewell on Mar. 2. The product of Bethany, Illinois, had six games of 20 points or more, including a career-high 26 at Illinois Springfield Jan. 19. The guard also picked up All-GLVC first-team and All-Freshman distinction.
Drury’s Miller was named the Chuck Mallander Coach of the Year for the first time in her five-year career at the helm in Springfield, Missouri, after leading her Lady Panthers to their first-ever perfect season at 28-0 that culminated in capturing the GLVC regular-season title at 18-0, which followed five-straight West Division crowns. She guided her squad to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) No. 1 ranking in Division II on Jan. 29 and have since been the unanimous top pick the past five weeks while also first in the Midwest Region. Only two other Panthers’ skippers have been voted to this honor, including Miller’s head coach, Steve Harold, in 2007-08 (when she was tabbed GLVC Player of the Year) and Steve Huber in 2013-14. This season, the 2008 Drury grad mentored two to major awards in Bernard and Robinson, while placing five on All-GLVC teams. Three were first-team picks, including unanimous choice Diestelkamp along with both Bernard and Robinson, while sophomore guards Payton Richards and Lauren Holmes were respectively named second- and third-team honorees.
Rounding out the first-team contingent with Kelliher, Bernard, Robinson, and Diestelkamp was Maryville junior guard Mary Barton – the only other unanimous choice – Bellarmine junior guard Mikayla Berry, Rockhurst junior guard Madeline Ronshausen, Southern Indiana sophomore forward Imani Guy, Truman State junior guard Sloane Totta, and William Jewell sophomore forward Kiara Bradley.
The league also recognized Quincy as its GLVC Women’s Basketball James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team recipient, as well as 14 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The nominees are now eligible to become one of their school's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
A complete list of the 2018-19 GLVC All-Conference teams and postseason honors follow below.
Player of the Year
Jessica Kelliher, Sr., F/C, LEWIS
Defensive Player of the Year
Daejah Bernard, Jr., G, DU #
Freshman of the Year
Paige Robinson, G, DU
Coach of the Year
Molly Miller, DU
# unanimous selection
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First-Team All-Conference
Mikayla Berry, Jr., G, BU
Daejah Bernard, Jr., G, DU
Hailey Diestelkamp, Jr., G/F, DU #
Paige Robinson, Fr., G, DU
Jessica Kelliher, Sr., PF/C, LEWIS #
Mary Barton, Jr., G, MU #
Madeline Ronshausen, Jr., G, RU
Imani Guy, So., F, USI
Sloane Totta, Jr., G, TSU
Kiara Bradley, So., F, WJC
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Second-Team All-Conference
Payton Richards, So., G, DU
Rachel Hinders, Jr., PF, LEWIS
Tierney Lockett, Sr., SG/PG, LEWIS
Sydney Diekhoff, So., G, MCK
Arielle Jackson, Sr., G, UMSL
Alex LaPorta, So., F, UMSL
Alex Davidson, Sr., G, USI
Brooke Bailey, Sr., PG, TSU
Rachel Edmundson, Sr., G, TSU
Antoinette Mussorici, Fr., G, WJC
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Third-Team All-Conference
Mallory Schwartz, Jr., F, BU
Lauren Holmes, So., G, DU
Emma Benoit, Jr., F, UNIDY
Laura Thomas, Jr., G, UINDY
Gabby Green, Sr., PG, LEWIS
Kayla Steward, Sr., G, MU
Stephanie Sherwood, Sr., F, MU
Jordan Heberg, Jr., G, MCK
Alex Kerr, Fr., F, S&T
Kacy Escheweiler, Sr., C, USI
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All-Freshman Team
Paige Robinson, G, DU #
Lauren Ladowski, G, UIS
Alex Kerr, F, S&T
Maddie Re, F, TSU
Antoinette Mussorici, G, WJC #
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2018-19 GLVC Women’s Basketball James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Individual Award Nominees
Kathleen Scott, BU
Lucia Fernandez, DU
Lauren Ladowski, UIS
Laura Thomas, UINDY
Kaitlyn Williams, LEWIS
Stephanie Sherwood, MU
Callie Pohlman, MCK
Alex Kerr, S&T
Kaitlynn Henning, UMSL
Kaci German, RU
Taylor Hickey, QU
Mikayla Rowan, USI
Rachel Steinhoff, TSU
Kayla Harrell, WJC
2018-19 GLVC Women’s Basketball James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award
Quincy