INDIANAPOLIS – Drury University junior guard Paige Robinson has been named the 2020-21 Great Lakes Valley Conference women's basketball Player of the Year, it was announced by the Conference office Tuesday. Maryville University junior guard Jayda Jansen was selected as Defensive Player of the Year, and Lewis University newcomer Jenna Badali garnered Freshman of the Year honors with her head coach, Samantha Quigley Smith, being voted by her peers as the Chuck Mallender Coach of the Year.
In addition, 32 student-athletes earned All-Conference honors and five were placed on the All-Freshman team. Southwest Baptist was also chosen as the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award winner, while 15 individuals were named GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees. The annual All-GLVC teams are voted on by the league’s 15 head coaches. Per league policy, coaches are prohibited from voting for their own players.
Robinson is the third Drury standout to be named the league’s top performer, as former head coach Molly (Carter) Miller was the first in 2007-08 and Hailey Diestelkamp was last season’s honoree. The junior led the third-ranked Panthers with 21.7 points per game, 33.9 minutes per game, an .804 free-throw percentage, 86 total assists and 4.78 per game, along with 19 blocks and 1.05 per game. Her scoring average also led the Conference and ranked eighth in NCAA Division II. She scored a career-high 37 points against Lindenwood on Nov. 29 and had a league-best 12 games with 20 or more points. Additionally, the Bethany, Illinois, native tallied three double-doubles while being the only player in the loop this season to register a triple-double. Robinson won three Player of the Week awards this year, including the last one just yesterday, which totals four in her career. She led Drury to the West Division title and is one of just two unanimous All-GLVC first-team choices, while this is her third-straight year being recognized as an all-league player on the First Team.
Jansen snags Maryville’s first-ever top defensive honor and is just the second-ever Saints player to win a major award, as Abby Duethman was the Player of the Year in 2012-13. Averaging 34.7 minutes per game, the junior registered the second-most steals in the GLVC this season with 54, for an average of 2.70 per game that was also second in the loop. Of her 71 total rebounds, 64 of them came on the defensive end. Not only did Jansen excel defensively, but the native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, also had the fourth-best scoring average (18.9) in 20 games and tied Robinson with a league-best 12 games of 20 or more points. She also earned her first career Player of the Week nod on Jan. 25 and was voted to the All-GLVC First Team.
Badali’s GLVC Freshman of Year laurel is the fifth for Lewis, as the most recent was Jessica Kelliher in 2015-16, who went on to the earn the next three Player of the Year awards. The product of Oak Lawn, Illinois, started 19 of 20 games, averaging 12.4 points per game in an average of 27.8 minutes. She shot .461 from the field and .802 from the foul line. With 3.35 steals per game, the guard led the GLVC, while her 67 total takeaways were also a league-best. Additionally, the point guard was the only freshman named to the All-GLVC First Team.
Lewis’ Samantha Quigley Smith was named the Chuck Mallender Coach of the Year for the first time in her fourth season at the helm in Romeoville and becomes the fifth Flyers’ mentor to be distinguished among her peers. She guided Badali to major recognition with the league’s top newcomer award, as well as All-GLVC first-team and All-Freshman accolades, and ushered another freshman in Kathryn Schmidt to both the All-Freshman Team and All-Conference Second Team. Her squad scored the best single-game field goal and three-point field goal percentage this season on Jan. 7 against Maryville with a .633 (31-of-49) and .692 (9-of-13) clip, respectively, while the Flyers had the second-highest scoring offense with 73.3 points per game in 21 games. They also had the second-best three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing just 30.2% shooting from opponents. Lewis went 13-8 during this unusual GLVC-only campaign and earned the 4-seed in the GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament, garnering hosting rights against fifth-seeded Missouri-St. Louis on Wednesday.
Rounding out the first-team contingent with Robinson, Jansen, and Badali was one other unanimous selection in Truman State University sophomore guard and last season’s Freshman of the Year, Hannah Belanger. Along with Robinson, teammate Azia Lynch was chosen, and Belanger’s teammate, Katie Jaseckas, earned a nod to make the Panthers and Bulldogs the only teams with multiple first-team winners. Also gleaning a spot on the First Team was University of Indianapolis senior guard Taylor Drury, Lindenwood University senior forward Julia Ruzevich, University of Missouri-St. Louis senior forward Alex LaPorta, University of Southern Indiana senior guard Emma DeHart, and William Jewell College senior forward Kiara Bradley.
The league also recognized Southwest Baptist as its GLVC Women’s Basketball James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award recipient, as well as 15 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 2020-21 GLVC All-Conference teams and postseason honors follow below.
GLVC Player of the Year: Paige Robinson, Jr., G, Drury
GLVC Defensive Player of the Year: Jayda Jansen, Jr., G, Maryville
GLVC Freshman of the Year: Jenna Badali, PG, Lewis
GLVC Chuck Mallender Coach of the Year: Samantha Quigley Smith, Lewis
ALL-GLVC FIRST TEAM *
Paige Robinson, Jr., G, DU #
Azia Lynch, Sr., G, DU
Taylor Drury, Sr., F, UINDY
Jenna Badali, Fr., PG, LEWIS
Julia Ruzevich, Sr., F/G, LWU
Jayda Jansen, Jr., G, MU
Alex LaPorta, Sr., F, UMSL
Hannah Belanger, So., G, TSU #
Katie Jaseckas, Sr., F, TSU
Emma DeHart, Sr., G, USI
Kiara Bradley, Sr., F, WJC
# Unanimous selection
*Extra Member due to tie in voting
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ALL-GLVC SECOND TEAM
Emily Parker, Sr., F, DU
Lauren Ladowski, Jr., G, UIS
Mickey Sasson, Sr., G, UINDY
Kathryn Schmidt, Fr., F, LEWIS
Devin Fuhring, Jr., G, LWU
Antoinette Mussorici, R-So., G, MU
Sydney Diekhoff, Jr., G, MCK
Kiara Stewart, Jr., C, UMSL
Daly Sullivan, Sr., G, RU
Hannah Haithcock, So., F, USI
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ALL-GLVC THIRD TEAM *
Payton Richards, Sr., G, DU
Malea Jackson, So., G, UIS
Ellen McCorkle, Jr., F/C, LWU
Christy Fortune, Fr., G/F, MCK
Alex Kerr, Jr., F/C, S&T
Laura Rodriguez, Jr., PG, S&T
Laney Lantz, So., G, QU
Kyleigh Vaught, Sr., G, SBU
Katey Klucking, Jr., G, TSU
Ellie Weltha, R-So., F, TSU
Sydney Offield, R-Sr., G, WJC
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ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jenna Badali, PG, LEWIS
Kathryn Schmidt, F, LEWIS
Christy Fortune, G/F, MCK
Jazzpher Evans, G, QU
Keegan Sullivan, G/F, RU
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2020-21 GLVC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP INDIVIDUAL AWARD HONOREES
Lauren Shipley, DU
Grace Weber, UIS
Mickey Sasson, UINDY
Reilly Olmstead, LEWIS
McKenna Montgomery, LWU
Karlee Feldman, MU
Kaelyn Froebe, MCK
Marta Durk, S&T
Kiara Stewart, UMSL
Sarah Nelson, QU
Lani Thompson, RU
Audrey Turner, USI
Regan Tibbits, SBU
Hannah Pinkston, TSU
Annemarie Boeh, WJC
2020-21 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Southwest Baptist