University of Idaho’s Beyonce Bea, a junior guard on the women’s basketball team, was awarded Preseason Most Valuable Player honors in the Big Sky Conference for the 2021-22 season.
Last season, Bea was a key player for getting the Vandals to the Big Sky Championship. She was unanimously voted as a first-team All-Big Sky honoree and was chosen as Player of the Week twice.
During her freshman season, Bea played in all 31 games and started in all but one. She scored a career high of 30 points against Sacramento State University. She claimed her second career double-double and a spot on the All-Big Sky third team , while also earning Big Sky All-Academic honors.
The Vandals finished up last season’s conference play 14-3 and closed out at 17-7 overall. Bea played and started in 23 games, pulling a conference third-best of 16.2 average points per game and an average of 7.7 rebounds.
Bea’s shooting averages for the previous season were 42.2% from the field, 27.8% from the three-point range and 76.1% from the free throw line.
Earlier this month, the Vandals were picked to finish third in the Big Sky Preseason Polls by coaches and media.
The Vandals are set for their first exhibition game on Nov. 7 against Whitman College. This will be their first game in the ICCU Arena.
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected]