Three Salukis named to MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams

ST. LOUIS - Three members of the Southern Illinois women's basketball team were recognized as Missouri Valley Conference Scholar Athletes, the conference announced Tuesday. Redshirt senior Rishonda Napier and fellow senior Kim Nebo were named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, while junior Kylie Giebelhausen earned Scholar-Athlete Second Team honors.

The criteria for the scholar-athlete team balloting parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves, have played at least 75-percent of a team's games, and must carry at least a 3.20 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).

Redshirt senior Rishonda Napier earned First Team Scholar-Athlete honors after posting a cumulative 3.50 GPA while majoring in economics. Napier is now a three-time selection, having earned first team honors last season and second team laurels following her sophomore campaign. The point guard from Burbank, Calif. has started all 29 games for SIU, and has started 88 straight games dating back to her sophomore season. She is second on the team, and eighth in the conference in scoring at 13.4 points per game, and is averaging 4.6 assists per contest, which ranks her second in the MVC in assists. She has scored in double-figures in 23 of SIU's 29 games this season, including two double-doubles. In Southern's 69-61 win over Memphis on Dec. 11 Napier scored 17 points and dished out 11 assists, and she later scored 18 points and added 11 assists in SIU's 77-54 win over Wichita State on Jan. 13. Napier is a two-time All-MVC honoree and is currently second on SIU's all-time scoring list with 1,713 career points.

Senior Kim Nebo was also named to the First Team Scholar-Athlete squad for the second-straight season. Nebo has a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA and is majoring in biological sciences and pre-pharmacy. The Katy, Texas native has appeared in all 29 games for SIU, including 25 starts and is having a career year, as she is averaging 10.4 points and 7.5 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game. She has recorded nine double-doubles this season, the second-most in the Valley and has scored in double-figures 16 times this season, which included scoring a career-high 19 points against UT Martin on Nov. 29.

Junior Kylie Giebelhausen was named to the Scholar-Athlete Second Team after earning Honorable Mention honors a year ago. Giebelhausen carries a 3.77 cumulative GPA with a double major in exercise science and pre-physical therapy. The East Peoria, Ill., native has started all 29 games for SIU, and has 90-straight starts dating back to her freshman season. She ranks in the top-10 in the Valley in six statistical categories including scoring (7^th, 13.8 pts/game), assists (10^th, 2.6/game), three-point field goal percentage (4^th, 38.7%), three-pointers made (1^st, 2.7/game), blocked shots (5^th, 1.0/game) and minutes played (2^nd, 35.0/game).
She has scored in double-figures in 17 of SIU's 29 games this season and recently tied her career-high with 26 points in the win at Indiana State on March 2. Giebelhausen became just the 27^th Saluki to reach 900 career points in the victory over the Sycamores.

It marks the first time in program history that SIU has had repeat first team selections, and Southern's three total honorees are tied with Northern Iowa for the most of any Valley school.

Napier is just the fifth Saluki to earn three Scholar-Athlete honors in a career, and the first to do so since Erica Smith earned her third selection following the 2007-08 season. 21 different Salukis have earned MVC Scholar-Athlete recognition since the 1992-93 season.

SIU is back in action on Friday, March 10 against the Wichita State Shockers. Tickets to "Hoops in the Heartland" are available at mvcquadcities.com.

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Kylie Giebelhausen

Rishonda Napier

Kim Nebo

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