ST. LOUIS - Indiana State junior center Shannon Thomas swept the weekly Missouri Valley Conference awards for the second consecutive week, earning the conference's Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week award as announced by MVC commissioner Doug Elgin.

Thomas, who has a 3.42 cumulative GPA in pre-business and marketing, posted a 20-20 double-double last Sunday at UT Martin, recording career highs in points (28) and rebounds (21) in the contest. The junior from Springboro, Ohio, came just one rebound shy of tying the Indiana State record of 22 in a single game, set by Amy Hile against Northern Iowa in 1984 and matched in 1995 by Georgia Bottoms against Wichita State.

Now in its 12th year of existence, The Valley's Scholar-Athlete program is sponsored by Prairie Farms, Roberts and Hiland Dairies.  On a weekly basis, the Conference honors its student-athletes for their athletic performance for a one-week period and academic success in the classroom. Thomas is the second Sycamore to earn the weekly award this season, joining volleyball's Stacy Qualizza on the list of recipients for ISU.

ISU plays their next four games inside Hulman Center, wrapping up their non-conference schedule tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 22), when the SIU Edwardsville Cougars come to Terre Haute at 7:05 p.m. After that, Indiana State opens up Missouri Valley Conference play with games against Northern Iowa (Thursday, Dec. 30), Bradley (Saturday, Jan. 1) and Illinois State (Saturday, Jan. 8).