The awards continued to roll in for the Missouri State Lady Bears Thursday, as the Missouri Valley Conference announced that senior guard Tyonna Snow is the Jackie Stiles Player of the Year and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in a ceremony during the MVC Tournament at the iWireless Center.
Snow is only the third player in MVC history to earn both awards in the same season, joining MSU’s Secelia Winkfield (1993) and Drake’s Wanda Ford (1985) in that exclusive club.
Snow leads the Lady Bears in nearly every statistical category, averaging 16.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 steals, 2.9 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 46 percent from the floor. She is the only player nationally averaging at least 15 points, six rebounds and three steals per game this season, and recently claimed Missouri State’s career steals record and the national lead among active Division I players with her 343 career thefts.
In MVC games, Snow increased her productivity to average 18.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 steals, 2.9 assists and 1.4 blocks to go with a .504 shooting percentage, scoring at least 10 points in all 18 Valley contests. She also led the league in free throw makes (101) and attempts (144), including a 21-for-29 effort against Loyola on Feb. 12 to set 2015-16 NCAA single-game highs and MSU records in each category. She finished with 41 points, 12 rebounds, seven steals and four blocks in that game.
A native of Blue Springs, Mo., Snow currently ranks 10th in MSU history with 1,537 career points, second in free throw attempts (731), third in free throw makes (473), first in steals (343), seventh in blocks (69), 18th in rebounds (585) and 20th in assists (254). She also ranks among Missouri State’s single-season leaders this year in terms of points (20th – 496), steals (3rd – 100), free throws (9th – 146), and blocks (9th – 36).
Additionally, she has scored at least 10 points in 26 games this season, adding five double-doubles and leading MSU in scoring on 17 occasions. She has 16 games this season with at least four steals and 44 in her career.
Snow is the seventh Lady Bear to earn the MVC’s top individual honor, and the fifth to be named the league’s top defender. Former Player of the Year recipients include Winkfield (1993), Melody Howard (1994), Jackie Stiles (1999, 2000, 2001), Kari Koch (2004), Jenni Lingor (2005) and Casey Garrison (2010). Previous MSU defensive award winners are Winkfield (1993), Lisa Davies (1998), Carly Deer (2001) and Tia Mays (2011).
Missouri State is 21-9 overall and tied for second in the final MVC standings with a 14-4 record. The third-seeded Lady Bears open conference tournament play against No. 6 Indiana State at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
