ST. LOUIS – Missouri State’s Brice Calip and Abi Jackson earned Missouri Valley Conference All-MVC First Team and All-Defensive Team honors, while graduate transfer Mariah White was named to the MVC All-Newcomer Team, the league announced today.
Calip, now a three-time member of both the All-MVC first team and All-Defensive Team, is averaging 11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season for the Lady Bears. She leads the team in steals with 64 and has dished out 100 assists, marking the third time in her career she has recorded triple-digit assists.
In conference play, Calip averages 12.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. In the MVC, Calip ranks 2nd in assist-to-turnover ratio, 2nd in steals per game, 4th in assists per game, 17th in rebounding and 19th in scoring. The sixth-year senior, who is averaging 32.3 minutes per game, is 56th in the nation with 64 steals and her 2.21 steals per game rank 75th nationally.
Jackson is a first-time member of both the All-MVC First Team and All-Defensive Team. The second-year Lady Bear led MSU in conference play this season, averaging 15.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. With 66 blocks so far this season, Jackson slots in at No. 4 on Missouri State’s single-season blocks list and her 95 career blocks as a Lady Bear are good for 6th in program history.
The Little Rock, Ark., native stepped up in a major way following the season-ending injuries to veterans Abby Hipp and Jasmine Franklin. In conference play, Jackson was 4th in the league in scoring, 5th in rebounding, 2nd in blocks per game and tied for third in offensive boards per game. She has recorded 18 double-digit scoring performances so far this season and falls inside the top 25 nationally in both blocks per game (19th) and total blocks (21st).
In her first season at Missouri State, White made an immediate impact on the Lady Bear squad, dropping 24 points in her MSU debut. Her 24 points were the most in an MSU debut since November 18, 1980. Since then, White has gone on to average 9.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game this season. She ranks third on the team with 47 steals and fourth on the roster with 43 assists.
White was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on February 21 for her performances at Illinois State and Bradley, including dropping 21 points against the Redbirds in a crucial conference matchup. White recorded 14 multiple steal games and ranked 4th in steals per game in MVC play, while also logging 11 double-digit scoring performances in the regular season.
Missouri State women’s basketball will head to the MVC Hoops in the Heartland conference tournament later this week. They are slated to take on the winner of the No. 7 Drake/ No. 10 Bradley matchup on Friday, March 11 at 6 p.m.
