TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? Laura Rudolphi and Kelsey Luna added to their academic accolades earlier today when they both were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete squads as voted upon by the league's sports information directors.
Rudolphi took home first team honors with a 3.98 grade-point average in Business Insurance. This is the second consecutive year that she has taken home First Team MVC Scholar-Athlete honors. Earlier this season, Rudolphi earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team honors and was also a First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection.
She paces the team with a 15.9 ppg average, a number which ranks third-best in The Valley. Rudolphi posted a Valley season-best and career-high 34 points on Senior Day last week as the Sycamores downed Southern Illinois by a score of 77-68 in the regular season finale. Her 48 blocked shots this season are a new school record and her 150 career rejections are also a new school standard. Rudolphi has scored 1,190 career points, which is 14th-best all-time and she is one of just 10 players in the history of the program to score at least 1,000 career points and pull down more than 500 rebounds.
Rudolphi will play in her 124th career game on Friday night against Drake in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, which will tie Melanie Boeglin for that school record as well. Her 51.6% career field goal percentage is fourth-best in the history of the Sycamore women's basketball program.
Also honored today by The Valley was sophomore Kelsey Luna, whose 4.0 GPA in Psychology, was enough for her to earn Second Team MVC Scholar-Athlete honors. Luna, who took home Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District plaudits earlier this season, is a first-time selection to the league's postseason scholar-athlete squad.
Luna is tied with senior Angela Phillips for the team lead with 61 3-point field goals, which ranks ninth-best for a single-season in the history of the program. Luna's 11.3 ppg average is 15th-best in The Valley, while her 2.18 3-pointers per game are tied for second. She has hit 140 career 3-pointers, which ranks as sixth-best for the Sycamores all-time. Luna is averaging 1.64 steals per game, which is eight-best in the MVC this season.
Both Rudolphi and Luna will lead the Indiana State Sycamores into action at this coming weekend's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to be held at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. ISU will looking to become the first-ever No. 6 seed to win The Valley's postseason tournament. The Sycamores begin their quest for a postseason crown on Friday, March 14 when they take on Drake in the last quarterfinal of the tournament's second day. Tip-off is slated for 9:35 p.m. (EST).
