MOLINE, Ill. – Junior Laniah Randle has been named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team and has been crowned as the MVC’s Most Improved Player for her performance in 2023-24.
Randle finished the regular season second in the conference in scoring, averaging a career-high 18.7 points-per-game. This comes after the junior averaged 7.2 PPG one season ago, seeing over an 11-point leap.
The forward out of Wichita, Kan., leads the Valley in 30-point games, posting four on the season. Her 36 points at Indiana State on Feb. 17 are tied for the second-most by a Valley player in a game this year.
Since MVC play began, Randle is averaging over 19 points-per-game, which is second in the conference.
No other Valley player ranks top three in both scoring and rebounding, as the junior is also third with 8.8 rebounds-per-game.
Randle has tallied 10 double-doubles on the year, and is fifth in the MVC in total steals (62) and tied for 14th in total blocks (20).
The excellent season has launched Randle into the SIU record books. The junior’s 524 points are tied for the fourth-most all-time at Southern Illinois (Sue Faber, 1979). Randle’s 126 free throws made are the third-most ever by a Saluki in a single season, and her 18.7 scoring average is third-best all-time.
Randle is the first Saluki to receive MVC First Team honors since both Abby Brockmeyer and Makenzie Silvey were named to the first team in 2022.
Randle and the Salukis will continue their season in the first round of the MVC Tournament on Thursday at 12 p.m. against Indiana State.
