Missouri State senior guard Brice Calip is the first Lady Bear since Casey Garrison in November 2010 to earn consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors, picking up the award for the third time overall this season and fourth in her career, the league announced Monday.
Calip averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.0 steals in No. 25 Missouri State’s home sweep of Drake, helping the Lady Bears to a 4-0 start in league play for the third consecutive season.
Friday, the senior tallied 13 of her 15 points in the second half, adding five boards, five assists and four steals while matching a career high with a trio of 3-pointers.
Saturday, the Sapulpa, Okla., native scored five of her 10 points over a 16-second span of the third quarter, sparking a decisive 17-2 run after Drake closed within three points. Calip finished with 10 points and four boards, tying season highs with six assists and four more steals.
Calip now ranks in the MVC’s top four in scoring, assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio after leading MSU to sweeps of UNI and Drake to start the league slate, marking the first time since 1993 and 1994 that the Lady Bears have swept the regular season series from the Iowa schools in consecutive years.
Missouri State (8-2, 4-0 MVC) host Southern Illinois (5-4, 2-2) at 3 p.m. Wednesday at JQH Arena.
