A pair of freshmen on the Bradley women’s basketball team earned All-MVC honors on Wednesday, but a notable name left off the list created questions among Braves fans.
Guard Caroline Waite and forward Abbie Draper became the fifth and sixth Braves to earn spots on the MVC’s All-Freshman team in the last six years. It marked the first time in 20 years that two Braves have shared the honor.
The 5-foot-4-inch Waite is small in stature but a large presence on the court, especially behind the arc. She started19 of the team’s 27 games this year and averaged 13.1 points per contest. Her freshman season, which included seven outings of 20 or more points, was one of the best in program history, as only five first-year players have led the team in scoring in the team’s 47-year history.
Stepping up in the absence of fifth-year Gabi Haack, whose season ended after a knee injury sustained on Jan. 1, Waite’s 34% mark from 3-point range was second on the team behind Haack. In addition, Waite made 2.88 triples per game, second most in the country among freshmen.
Draper, a six-foot-two freshman forward, earned a spot on the All-Freshman team after taking a leap midway through the season. The Waverly, Iowa native put up 5.7 points per game to go with 3.8 rebounds in 15 starts. Draper’s season-high of 14 points came at a clutch time, keying the Braves to a win against Evansville on Feb. 6.
Of the 15 starts, 11 came in conference play, where she averaged 7.1 points per game in an increased role. Draper displayed her versatility in her first season on the Hilltop, ranking third on the team in blocks and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage.
The announcement of the MVC All-Conference teams brought a light to some, but cast a cloud of confusion among others, as senior guard Tatum Koenig’s 12.1 PPG (14.6 in conference play) were not enough for a spot on the Valley’s first team or honorable mention.
Known as a distributor during her career with the Braves, Koenig was forced to also become a scorer after Haack’s injury, as the senior’s 14.6 scoring average in MVC play ranked fifth in the conference. The last time a player in the top five in conference scoring average was snubbed from the All-MVC team was 2016.
Koenig was second in the Valley with 98 assists and finished 10 contests with five or more. The senior guard played the most minutes out of everyone in the conference and scored a career-high 27 against Valparaiso on Feb. 10 after nearly posting a double-double with 23 points and 8 assists in the previous game.
For Waite and Draper, their first – and Koenig’s potential last –taste of postseason play begins tonight in the first round of the MVC Tournament against Drake in Moline, Illinois.
