BELLEVILLE, IL -- The Blackburn College Women's Basketball team was named the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Team of the Year for best representing the league's ideals of sportsmanship both on and off the court. Freshman Gracie Jent was named to the leagues All Sportsmanship team to end a season full of improvements and growth. 

Under the guidance of a new coach, and featuring a roster of six freshman, four sophomores, and just four upperclassman, the Beavers saw much improvement throughout the year. This year's squad featured more wins, more points, more points per game, better shooting percentage, better defensive shooting percentage, better three point shooting percentage, better defensive three point percentage, better FT percentage, defensive rebounding, and was nearly identical to last year in steals and assiststhan the 2022-23 team. The defense allowed opponents to shoot just 27% from three which placed them third in the conference while the team led the league in defensive rebounding. 

The Beavers started the season with a trip to Michigan and came back at 1-1 on the season. The team was down eight entering the fourth quarter at Great Lakes Christian College but ended up falling. They then bounced back to capture a 70-59 victory at Kuyper College, where the team outscored the hosts 39-21 in the second half. 

The team returned home and bounced back from a tough loss to defeat Mount Mary University 77-68. Blackburn also collectd a 70-52 victory over Alverno College before the winter break in a game the Beavers led for the the final 31 minutes. 

Pacing the team's offensive scoring was freshman Kailynn Kruep with 11.6 points and 2.5 assists per game. Senior Ashanti Jones added 9.0 points and 2.1 assists. Sophomore Caidy Tuetken posted a team best 4.8 rebounds per game while freshman Becca Benoit chipped in with 4.6. Freshman Kenadee Frey notched 1.8 assists with senior Elizabeth Morris contributing 1.4. Jent led the team behind the arc while junior Miley Kwiatowski was right behind. 

Defensively, Kruep paced the team with 2.0 steals and tied sophomore Zoe Mitchell for the team best in blocks. Jonses added 1.5 steals per game. 

The young team continued to show signs of growth throughout the year and will look to build on their improvements as they turn their focus to next season.