Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Associate Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
 
GRINNELL, Iowa – After a vote of the league’s head coaches, Ripon College junior forward Ella Ten Pas is the 2023-24 Midwest Conference (MWC) Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. Ten Pas also received First Team honors to headline the All-Conference awardees.
 
Through 16 MWC games, Ten Pas led the league in field goal percentage (.563) and rebounding (10.3 per game), while averaging 15.1 points per game for the Red Hawks and shooting .744 percent from the free throw line.
 
Knox College freshman guard Bria Medina was named MWC Women’s Basketball Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-MWC. Appearing in all 16 conference games for the Prairie Fire, Medina scored 16.3 points per game while shooting .475 from the field, both ranked third in the league, and averaged 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals.  
 
Joining Ten Pas and Medina on the First Team is Illinois College fifth year Kendra Bass, Knox sophomore Kylee Callahan, Grinnell senior Erin Lillis, and Cornell senior Kali March.
 
Lawrence freshman Charlotte Brennan and junior teammate Maggie Culver make up the Second Team, along with Ripon senior Bonnie Jensen, Beloit seniors Elizabeth Kalk and Hannah Welte, and Illinois College senior Ashlyn Wightman.
 
For the third season in a row, Ripon College received MWC Women’s Basketball Coaching Staff of the Year honors. In her tenth season as head coach, Lauren Busalacchi guided the Red Hawks to a 14-2 league record (19-8 overall), their sixth consecutive regular season title, and third MWC tournament crown in the last five seasons.  
 
Recognizing the team that displays the highest ideals of sportsmanship in the conference, the Fighting Scots of Monmouth College earned the MWC Women’s Basketball Team Sportsmanship Award.
 
The full list of All-Conference honorees and major award winners is listed below:
 
Newcomer of the Year
Bria Medina, Knox College, Freshman
 
Player of the Year
Ella Ten Pas, Ripon College, Junior
 
Coaching Staff of the Year
Ripon College – Head Coach: Lauren Busalacchi

Team Sportsmanship Award
Monmouth College
 
First Team All-Conference
Kendra Bass, Illinois College, Fifth Year
Kylee Callahan, Knox College, Sophomore
Erin Lillis, Grinnell College, Senior
Kali March, Cornell College, Senior
Bria Medina, Knox College, Freshman
Ella Ten Pas, Ripon College, Junior
 
Second Team All-Conference
Charlotte Brennan, Lawrence University, Freshman
Maggie Culver, Lawrence University, Junior
Bonnie Jensen, Ripon College, Senior
Elizabeth Kalk, Beloit College, Senior
Hannah Welte, Beloit College, Senior
Ashlyn Wightman, Illinois College, Senior