After leading all Missouri Valley Conference freshmen in scoring and in assists, both overall and in Valley-only play, Valpo women’s basketball freshman Ali Saunders (Depauw, Ind./North Harrison) was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team Wednesday evening at the conference’s pre-tournament awards banquet.

Saunders averaged 10.9 points/game and 2.9 assists/game to lead all Valley freshmen, ranking 14^th in the conference in assists. She was second among Beacons in scoring and paced the squad in assists. Saunders has scored in double figures a team-high 18 times this season and dished out five or more assists five times.

She ranks sixth in the Valley with an .848 free throw percentage, a mark which is on pace to crack Valpo’s single-season top-10 in the category. Saunders is also on pace to break into the program’s single-season top-10 in 3-point percentage, as she is hitting at a .432 clip from deep.

Saunders’ season was highlighted by a 32-point effort in November against UAB - a new Valpo freshman record and the highest-scoring game by any Valpo player in six seasons. She also enjoyed a perfect shooting night in Valpo’s home game against UNI, scoring 19 points (7-7 FG, 1-1 3PT, 4-4 FT) and becoming the first Valpo player with a 100% field goal percentage on at least seven attempts since 2004.