By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Western Illinois’ Raegan McCowan and Mia Nicastro worked well together in their first season together, and it paid off with their selections to the Ohio Valley Conference’s postseason first team on Tuesday.

McCowan, a sophomore, led the OVC in scoring, and ranks 11th nationally, at 21.3 points per game, and is third in conference with 7.8 rebounds per game. Nicastro, a junior who transferred from Saint Louis in the offseason, was fourth in the conference in scoring at 14.9 points per game and fourth in rebounding at 7.4 per game.

“We’re spoiled to have two such good forwards, and they can both score and can both rebound,” Western Illinois coach JD Gravina said on Monday. “It’s really helped on rebounding. I think that’s probably the thing that maybe people don’t realize has helped us maybe the most with those two kids. I think that when they’re both firing on all cylinders, especially, that makes us a really good team.”

“I think we’re just two players that want to win at the end of the day,” McCowan said. “If I’m shooting, she’s rebounding. If she’s shooting, I’m rebounding. I think that’s the mentality that we both have, and I think we’ve kind of become unstoppable.”

It was McCowan’s second OVC first-team honor.

Nicastro was also named to the conference’s all-newcomer team.

Eastern Illinois’ Macy McGlone was named the conference’s player of the year. Lindenwood’s Amy Eagan was coach of the year.

MALETIC HONORED: WIU guard Marko Maletic was a second-team selection on the men’s team.

Maletic led the Leathernecks in scoring at 16.4 points per game. He also set a program single-season record with 92 3-pointers.

Top photo: WIU’s Raegan McCowan made the All-OVC first team for the second consecutive season. (Photo courtesy of WIU Athletic Communications)