Women’s basketball notebook: Ex-North Central star Brianna King named Frontier Conference MVP again

Brianna King ruled the Frontier Conference again.

King, a North Central graduate and Montana Western guard, was named the NAIA conference’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight season Tuesday.

The 5-foot-5 senior led the Frontier in scoring (22.3 points per game) and steals (80) and was also among the best in assists (91) for the fourth-ranked Bulldogs (25-4).

King was also named Frontier Conference Player of the Week seven times during the regular season.

Montana Western, which won the Frontier’s regular-season title, opens the NAIA national tournament in Billings next week against Georgetown (Kentucky). King led the Bulldogs to the national semifinals last year.

Carroll College guard Christine Denny, a Liberty graduate, was a second-team All-Frontier selection.

The sophomore guard averages 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 points and 1.6 steals for the sixth-ranked Saints (25-7), who open the NAIA national tournament next week against Pikeville (Kentucky).

WSU’s Hristova named All-Pac-12

Washington State forward Borislava Hristova was named to the All-Pac-12 team Tuesday, as voted by coaches.

She received the same honor from the Pac-12 media.

The junior ranks third in the league in scoring (20.2 ppg) and leads the Cougars in rebounds (5.6 rpg).

Hristova, who is shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, was an All-Pac-12 selection last season and honorable mention in 2017.

Her teammate, Chanelle Molina, was an honorable mention point guard (5.2 assists per game) this season.

No. 10 seed Washington State (9-20) opens the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday against seventh-seeded California (18-11). The Bears beat the Cougars twice in the regular season.

Hull twins recognized

Stanford freshman guard and ex-Central Valley standout Lacie Hull was recently named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team.

Hull has started 23 games for No. 7 Stanford (25-4), averaging 5.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

Hull’s twin sister, Lexie Hull, was an All-Freshman Team honorable mention.

Lexie was also recently named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after averaging nine points and 4.5 rebounds in wins over Washington and Washington State last week. She also had a career-high four steals in the win over WSU in what was likely her best weekend since returning from injury nearly two months ago. She shot 7 of 12 from the floor, including 4 of 8 on 3-pointers.

Stanford will face the winner of Washington State and California in the Pac-12 Tournament on Friday.

Hovren continues tear at Army

Army standout and former Central Valley forward Madison Hovren was named the Patriot League player of the week for the third time this season.

Hovren, Army’s record-breaking senior, recorded two double-doubles last week against Colgate (35 points, 14 rebounds) and Boston (23 points 11 rebounds). She has 21 double-doubles this season and 54 for her career.

She leads the league in points (19) and rebounds (12.9) per game.