Wichita State University sophomore Alex Harden was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for Jan. 22.  She is the first Shocker to earn the award this year.

Harden led the Shockers to wins over Creighton and Drake to boost Wichita State to the top of the Valley standings with a 5-0 record.  The sophomore raced to a career-high 20 points in a 67-45 win over Creighton.  She connected on 8-of-11 shots and 4-for-4 free throws against the Bluejays.  She added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot while playing stellar defense that helped hold Creighton to 33.3% shooting. 

The Springfield, Ill. (Southeast High School) native followed up with a bulging stat line against Drake: 11 points, career-high eight assists, four rebounds, and three steals.  Her defense again contributed to a 33.3% shooting night from the opposition.

A member of the MVC All-Freshman Team last year, Harden is second on the Shockers in scoring (8.5 ppg), rebounding (4.4 rpg), and blocked shots (13) and leads the team in assists (56) and steals (25).  In conference play the sophomore is averaging 12.4 points and shooting .553 from the field.

Wichita State is in first place in the Valley standings and has won 8-of-9 games.  The Shockers hit the road this weekend for games Friday night Southern Illinois and Sunday afternoon at Evansville. The next home game is Friday, Feb. 1 vs. Illinois State at 7:05 p.m. inside Charles Koch Arena.