The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced its women's basketball all-conference teams this afternoon. University of Illinois Springfield player Lauren Ladowski was named the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, and was a unanimous first-team all-GLVC selection. Malea Jackson earned third-team all-GLVC honors.
 
Ladowski is the first UIS player to win one of the major awards given out by the conference, and is also the first player in program history to earned first-team all-conference honors. She earned her third all-time all-GLVC award, a new program record, after being second-team last season and third-team in 2020.
 
Ladowski was the defensive leader of a UIS team that is allowing just 67.7 points per game, which ranks sixth in the GLVC. She is the GLVC and ranked 14th in NCAA Division II with 75 steals. She is 23rd nationally-ranked with a 2.78 steal average. Ladowski is two steals away from the single-season record at UIS.
 
Ladowski was also one of the top offensive players in the GLVC, ranking third with 17.1 points per game. Among her points was 133 made free throws, which ranks 11th in the nation. She also ranks fourth in the GLVC with 34.6 minutes of playing time, ninth with a .811 free-throw percentage, and 12th with 2.41 assists per game.
 
Ladowski improved her three-point shooting in her final season at UIS, and made 21 on the year. She also had 100 rebounds, 65 assists, and nine blocks.
 
For her four-year career, Ladowski is the school's career leader with 1,500 points, 206 steals, and 524 made free throws. She is averaging 15.5 points for her career, and has also recorded 404 rebounds and 303 assists.
 
Jackson earned third-team all-GLVC honors for the second straight season. She is the fourth Prairie Star all-time to win multiple all-conference honors.
 
Jackson is ranked 15th in the GLVC with 13.3 points per game, and is one of the best free-throw shooters in the GLVC with a .845 free-throw percentage. She is 12th in the conference by averaging 30.3 minutes per game.
 
Jackson was the top three-point shooter on the UIS team, making 34 shots on the season. She was second with 359 total points and 87 made free throws. She also collected 103 rebounds, 29 assists, 25 steals, and four blocks.
 
In her three-year career, Jackson has recorded 920 points, 280 rebounds, 93 assists, and 81 steals. She has made 109 three-pointers, which is the fifth-most in program history, and her 203 made free throws is sixth in the UIS record book.
 
Ladowski and Jackson were the leaders for the best UIS team in 23 seasons. The Prairie Stars will take a 17-10 overall record into a GLVC Tournament Quarterfinal contest on Friday against Missouri-St. Louis.
 
Ellie Mitchell was also named the 2021-22 James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award Sport Honoree for UIS women's basketball.
 
Complete All-GLVC Teams