University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Howell, Rucker, Hagen Earn Scholar-Team Honors
3/12/2019 9:30:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ST. LOUIS – UNI's Ellie Howell, Karli Rucker and Taylor Hagen were honored as members of the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete teams released by the conference Tuesday.
Howell was named to the First Team while Rucker earned second-team honors. Hagen received an Honorable Mention nod.
Howell missed seven games of the regular season because of an injury, but averaged 9.7 points per game and scored 224 points on the year. She scored in double figures 12 times including a season-high 18 points in her last full game of the season against Southern Illinois. She is a two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete honoree, picking up second-team honors in 2017 and 2018.
She finishes her career 13th in career scoring and, after Saturday's game, is tied for 10th in career games played. She carries a 4.0 GPA and is currently in the MBA program at UNI.
Rucker stepped into the starting lineup this season after averaging just 4.2 points per game a season ago. This year, she leads the Panthers at 14.3 PPG and is shooting a stellar 44.0 percent from the field and 83.7 percent from the free throw line. She is second in the MVC at 4.0 assists per game.
She has a 3.40 GPA in Elementary education.
Hagen stepped into the starting lineup after Megan Maahs went down with a season-ending injury. She has shined in her role, averaging 8.4 points per game in the MVC season and averaging 4.2 rebounds per game.
Taylor carries a 3.96 GPA in Communications Sciences.
The Panthers ended the season with a 19-11 overall and 12-6 in MVC play to earn the third seed in the MVC tournament. The Panthers open the tournament Friday at 8:30 p.m. against No. 6 Southern Illinois at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill.
Howell was named to the First Team while Rucker earned second-team honors. Hagen received an Honorable Mention nod.
Howell missed seven games of the regular season because of an injury, but averaged 9.7 points per game and scored 224 points on the year. She scored in double figures 12 times including a season-high 18 points in her last full game of the season against Southern Illinois. She is a two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete honoree, picking up second-team honors in 2017 and 2018.
She finishes her career 13th in career scoring and, after Saturday's game, is tied for 10th in career games played. She carries a 4.0 GPA and is currently in the MBA program at UNI.
Rucker stepped into the starting lineup this season after averaging just 4.2 points per game a season ago. This year, she leads the Panthers at 14.3 PPG and is shooting a stellar 44.0 percent from the field and 83.7 percent from the free throw line. She is second in the MVC at 4.0 assists per game.
She has a 3.40 GPA in Elementary education.
Hagen stepped into the starting lineup after Megan Maahs went down with a season-ending injury. She has shined in her role, averaging 8.4 points per game in the MVC season and averaging 4.2 rebounds per game.
Taylor carries a 3.96 GPA in Communications Sciences.
The Panthers ended the season with a 19-11 overall and 12-6 in MVC play to earn the third seed in the MVC tournament. The Panthers open the tournament Friday at 8:30 p.m. against No. 6 Southern Illinois at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill.
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