Manage Delivery
Wichita State’s women’s basketball team continued to reap the rewards for its championship season.
On Thursday, the Missouri Valley Conference named Jody Adams the Coach of the Year and sophomore Alex Harden its Defensive Player of the Year.
Adams guided the Shockers (21-9, 15-3 MVC) to their first MVC title, sharing it with Creighton, and school records for wins and conference victories. They are the top seed in this week’s conference tournament and play at noon Friday.
Adams is 89-70 in five seasons at WSU after taking over a program that had not won a conference title or won an NCAA Division I post-season game. She improved WSU’s MVC finish each season, capped by this season’s title.
Harden, a forward from Springfield, Ill., leads WSU with 49 steals and 32 blocks. Usually guarding the top scorer, she helped WSU hold 17 opponents to 55 points or less.
Harden follows former Shocker Haleigh Lankster, last season’s MVC Defensive Player of the Year.
Northern Iowa guard Jacqui Kalin earned Player of the Year honors after leading the MVC in scoring at 19.4 points. Illinois State sophomore Janae Smith was named Newcomer of the Year and Creighton’s Marissa Janning earned Freshman of the Year honors.
