Ivy Brown, Elgedawy and Givens earn more C-USA honors

Senior forward Ivy Brown, (23), of Hodgenville, Ky., looks down the court for an open player during the game against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018 at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Jeremy Chisenhall

WKU senior Ivy Brown has won Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, while Raneem Elgedawy has won Freshman of the Year and sophomore Dee Givens has won Sixth Player of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday. 

Brown and Elgedawy had already earned conference honors on Monday, as Brown was named First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Defense, while Elgedawy was named to the All-Freshman Team. 

Elgedawy is the first WKU Freshman of the Year since the Lady Toppers joined C-USA. She was C-USA’s top freshman rebounder and most efficient shooter from the field. Her award-winning season was highlighted by a 23-rebound performance against Florida International University on Jan. 11. 

Brown has won WKU its third Defensive Player of the Year award in the program’s first four years in C-USA. She was the top rebounder in the conference, averaging 9.8 rebounds per game. She also ranked second in the conference in steals with 2.5 per game and blocks with 1.6 per game. 

Givens’ Sixth Player of the Year award comes in a season in which she notched her first career double-double with a 16 point, 10 rebound performance against FIU on Jan. 11. She averaged 10.6 points per game and 4.9 RPG. 

The Lady Toppers are set to begin play in the C-USA Tournament at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. They’ll take on the winner of Florida Atlantic University vs. University of Texas-San Antonio. 

Sports Editor Jeremy Chisenhall can be reached at 270-745-6291 and [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JSChisenhall.