University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Herzberg Named MVC Sixth Player of the Year
3/9/2017 6:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Sophomore guard Ellie Herzberg has been named the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Player of the Year, it was announced tonight by league officials.
Herzberg is the second player in program history to earn Sixth Player of the Year, joining Stephanie Davison who won it in 2015. The MVC Women's Basketball Sixth Player of the Year Award is in its third year, recognizing an impact players that started in fewer than half of its conference games.
The Manson, Iowa, native has seen action in 27 of UNI's 29 games this season after coming back from a season-ending injury in 2015-16. She earned MVC All-Conference first-team honors this season, becoming the first Panther in program history to earn a first-team selection coming off the bench.
She is second on the team in points, averaging 11.7 points per game overall and 13.1 in conference play. Herzberg has reached double-digits in 11 of UNI's 18 MVC games this year, including a career-high 27 points against Drake in January.
In MVC play only, she is ranked No. 10 in scoring, No. 14 in free throw percentage, No. 8 in steals and No. 14 in three-point field goal percentage all while leading the UNI bench to over 25 points per game as a unit, leading the league.
On offense, Herzberg has shot 50 percent or higher from the field in six games, including her 71-percent performance in the conference opener at Missouri State. On defense, Herzberg leads the Panthers in steals with 45 that included 37 during MVC play.
She has also been integral in keeping eight of the top-15 scorers in the MVC this season well below their averages in either one or both contests against opponents this year, leading UNI to a No. 1 rank in the Valley and top-40 rank in the NCAA in scoring defense.
Herzberg and the Panthers will get started in the 2017 MVC Tournament on Friday, March 10 when they play the winner of the Bradley/Loyola game. The game on Friday is set to tip off at 6 p.m. CT in the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill.
