Missouri State’s Kenzie Williams, Tyonna Snow and Onye Osemenam were honored Thursday with a total of five awards at MSU’s annual postseason banquet. Williams received the Cheryl Burnett Student-Athlete and Academic Excellence awards, Snow was recognized as the Team MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, and Osemenam was cited as the Lady Bears’ most improved player.
One of three Lady Bears to earn Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team honors three times in a career, Williams repeated as a first-team all-league selection for her on-court performance this season after averaging 14 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The senior scored at least 10 points in 25 games while topping the 20-point plateau on five occasions to go with a team-high 63 3-pointers.
Williams finished her career with 89 double-figure scoring efforts and nineteen 20-point games to her credit. She was a five-time MVC Player of the Week, and ended her career ranked seventh in MSU history in scoring (1,645), ninth in steals (212), sixth in 3-point makes (184), fifth in 3-point attempts (517), 13th in 3-point accuracy (.356), 10th in free throw makes (345), 10th in free throw attempts (444), 14th in blocked shots (52), 15th in assists (320), and 21st in rebounds (566).
Snow led the Lady Bears in nearly every statistical category, averaging 16.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.2 steals, 2.9 assists and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor. She set MSU’s single-season record for steals with 109, ranking fourth nationally in that category, and was the only Division I player to average at least 15 points, six rebounds and three steals per game in 2015-16. Snow finished her senior campaign ranked among MSU’s all-time single-season leaders in scoring (12th – 570), steals (1st – 109), free throws (5th – 168), and blocks (7th – 39).
The MVC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Snow concluded her career ranked second among active NCAA players with 352 career steals and third with a 2.93 average. On Missouri State’s career list, she ranks first (and 4th in MVC) in steals (352), second (3rd in MVC) in free throw attempts (763), third (8th in MVC) in free throw makes (495), eighth in field goal attempts (1,318), seventh in blocked shots (72), ninth in points scored (1,611), 16th in rebounds (622) and 18th in assists (265).
Osemenam more than doubled her career minutes played as a junior, averaging 13 per contest as a key member of MSU’s post rotation. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native finished second on the squad with 22 blocked shots while averaging 1.2 points and 2.1 rebounds, and was also among the team leaders in charges taken. Osemenam ended the season ranked 18th in MSU history with 47 career blocked shots.
Missouri State finished 24-10 last season and advanced to the 14th NCAA Tournament in school history. The Lady Bears return nine players from that squad, including three that started at least 11 games, for Harper’s fourth season in Springfield.
