COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team closed out its memorable 2014-15 season Wednesday evening with its annual postseason celebration at Mizzou Arena, as Tiger coaches and players were honored for their 19-14 season which included reaching the third round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Head Coach Robin Pingeton's squad overcame several injuries to post the most wins by Mizzou since 2005-06, while the WNIT success marked the program's deepest post-season run since 2002-03 (WNIT Quarterfinals).
Following is a recap of the awards presented at the celebration:
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING AWARDS - Senior Bree Fowler was named a National Strength Coaches Association 2015 Strength and Conditioning All-American for the third-straight year, while junior Lianna Doty was recognized as the Mizzou Performance Athlete of the Year. Both awards honor the work ethic and effort it takes to achieve excellence in the weight room, as well as on and off the court...
SIXTH-MAN AWARD - Junior Maddie Stock emerged as a valuable presence off the bench as she played a vital role in the Tigers' season. Stock played in all 33 games (starting twice), and averaged 7.2 points per game (4th-best on the team). Her buzzer-beating three-pointer to give MU a 70-69 road win at 12th-ranked Texas A&M on Feb. 26th was one of the top highlights of the season...
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Sophomore Jordan Frericks, who led the team in most categories, took home the top defensive honor after leading the team with 49 steals and 46 blocked shots - nearly half the team's total of 111 blocks for the season...
HARD HAT AWARD - Sophomore Lindsey Cunningham took home this award, which goes to the team member most known for a blue collar mentality, who comes to work every day and works hard to make herself, and her teammates better. Cunningham played in all 33 games (starting 31 times) and averaged 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Tigers in 2014-15, while leading the team with 91 assists...
DR. JOANN RUTHERFORD COACH'S AWARD - This award was shared by seniors Morgan Eye & Bree Fowler for their dedication and hard work demonstrated consistently to the program and to their teammates and coaches...
THE BOARD AWARD - Sophomore Jordan Frericks was honored for leading the team with a rebounding average of 9.9 per game...
FREE THROW AWARD - Senior Morgan Eye won this honor for her team-best 82.5% mark on the season...
THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE AWARD - Sophomore Sierra Michaelis took home this award as she connected at a team-best 38.3% clip from beyond the arc...
CAREER 3-POINT AWARD - Senior Morgan Eye was given this special recognition for her amazing long-range skills throughout her Tiger career, which included a Mizzou-record 367 three-pointers made. Eye connected on 63 treys in her freshman season, followed by an MU single-season record 112 as a sophomore. She made 108 threes as a junior, and made 84 more as a senior...
IMPACT AWARD - Dr. Scotta Morton was honored with the IMPACT Award, given to a member of the team's support staff who directly influenced the team and left a positive imprint. Morton, who is with the Athletic Department's Sports Psychology department, is credited with playing a big role in the team's mental toughness displayed during the 19-win season...
400 CAREER WINS - Head Coach Robin Pingeton was honored for her milestone victory number 400, which took place this season when the Tigers defeated Loyola-Chicago by a score of 56-45 on Dec. 3rd...
SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM - Senior Morgan Eye was honored for her exemplary efforts in the Columbia and mid-Missouri community during the season and for throughout her time here at Mizzou overall. Morgan devoted some 115 hours of community service during her four years as a Tiger...
SEC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Sophomore Jordan Frericks was recognized for her in-season SEC Player of the Week honor on March 2nd, when she claimed the prestigious league award for her outstanding play in leading Mizzou to wins at Texas A&M and against Arkansas. In those games, Frericks averaged 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, including a 25 point, 12-rebound outing in the big upset win at 12th-ranked A&M...
SEC SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE - Sophomore Jordan Frericks was recognized for being selected to the SEC All-Conference second-team for her outstanding play during the season. As detailed previously, Frericks led the Tigers in most categories, including scoring (13.2 ppg), rebounding (9.9 rpg), steals (49) and blocks (46), among other categories...
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