Elmhurst, IL-- Sometimes coaches and media agree, and sometimes they don???t. Whenit came to the balloting for two of the Mid-Continent Conference???s top threeawards, those two factions did a lot of disagreeing this season. The league???s coaches chose Oral Roberts??? Krista Ragan (Indianola, Okla.) and Valparaiso???s Katie Boone (Greenwood, Ind.) as the conference???s Player and Newcomer of the Year, respectively, while the media selected Oakland???s
Sarah Judd (Eastpointe, Mich.) and UMKC???s Kim Hansen(Cedar Falls, Iowa) for the same awards. The one thing the media and coaches agreed on was Valparaiso???s Keith Freeman as Coach of the Year. Ragan capped her impressive career by repeating as the coaches selection for Player of the Year. In the regular season, she led the Mid-Con in scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game, while also adding 2.7 assists (9th in the Mid-Con). Ragan earned three Mid-Con Player of the Week awards this season, but her top achievement came in the last week of January, when she became the league???s all-time leading scorer. Ragan has been named to the all-conference first team four consecutive years by both the league???s coaches and media. Judd has enjoyed a spectacular final season herself at Oakland. She ranks in the top ten in the Mid-Con in eight categories, including scoring (19.3, 2nd), rebounding (8.2, 3rd), assists (2.9, 8th)and blocked shots (2.3, 1st). She also leads the Mid-Con in free throw percentage with near-perfect 90.1 accuracy. Judd has also earned three Mid-Con Player of the Week honors this season, and has moved up to second on the league???s all-time scoring list. She has been named to the all-conference first team each of the last three years. Boone has been one of the main reasons behind Valparaiso???s turnaround this season. Through the end of the regular season, Boone led the Mid-Con in assist-to-turnover ratio, averaging just under two assists for each miscue (1.98:1). She also ranks fifth in the Mid-Con in assists (3.6), doing all of her damage off the bench. Boone has also contributed 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Hansen is one of many freshmen to make an impact for UMKC this season, as she averaged 11.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while earning Player of the Week honors once. Her 56.3 accuracy from the floor ranks second in the league. Freeman has led Valparaiso to arguably its best season ever. A year after posting a 7-22 record an finishing eighth in the league, the Crusaders went 22-5 in the regular season, including a 13-1 mark in Mid-Con play that earned them their second Mid-Con regular-season crown. The team???s 22 wins thus far this season tie a single-season school record, and its .574 improvement in winning percentage represents the nation???s best turnaround this season. Judd and Ragan were joined on both the coaches and media first teams by IUPUI???s Tiffany Kyser (Indianapolis, Ind.), Valparaiso???s Marlous Nieuwveen (Leiderdorp, Netherlands) and Oakland???s
Katie Wolfe (Cedar Springs, Mich.) Second-team honorees by both the coaches and media included Jeanette Gray (Valparaiso, Ind.), Caroline Heaton (Alton, Utah), Chicago State???s Krisey Sanders (Racine, Wis.) and Oral Roberts??? Cori Williston (Tulsa, Okla.). In addition, Valparaiso???s Amber Schober (Plainfield, Ind.) was named to the coaches second team, while Western Illinois??? Becky Tyo(Rockford, Ill.) was honored by the media on the second team. UMKC made a strong presence on the All-Freshman team with three players Kim Hansen (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Katie Houlehan (Kansas City , Mo.)and Randi Meissner (Plymoth, Minn.) Oakland's
Amanda Batcha (Waterford, Mich.)and Valpo's Katie Boone (Greenwood, Ind.) rounded out the All-Freshman team.