Goods named MVC Newcomer of Year

Hannah Green (from left), Simone Goods and Paige Saylor were honored with Missouri Valley Conference awards on Thursday. (Photo Greg Halbleib/WJBC)

By WJBC Staff

MOLINE, Ill. – Illinois State University junior Simone Goods has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year, in a poll of coaches, media members and sports information directors.

Goods has become the third player in program history to receive this honor, joining Jamie Russel (2012) and Janae Smith (2013).

The Omaha, Nebraska native leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game and is second with 6.0 rebounds per game. Goods has been named MVC Newcomer of the Week three times, while also sweeping the weekly awards, earning Player of the Week one time. The junior forward dominated in the Long Beach Classic Tournament, averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. She led the team to the tournament title and was named Long Beach Classic MVP.

Goods has scored 20 or more points in six games this season and has had four double-doubles. She captured a career high of 29 points against Indiana State and grabbed a career high of 14 boards against Bradley. She averages 46.1 percent from the field, which ranks third in the MVC and is top 10 in the Valley for free-throw shooting, averaging 67.3 percent.

During Thursday awards ceremony between the first two games of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, Hannah Green was officially recognized for her All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team honors as was Paige Saylor as a member of the Valley’s All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams.

Illinois State faces Northern Iowa in Friday’s fourth quarterfinal game with tip-off scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Taxslayer Center in Moline. The game can be heard on 1230 AM WJBC and WJBC.com.

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