Wisconsin-Superior duo headlines 2015-2016 UMAC Women's Basketball Awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2015-2016 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women’s basketball season was one of great change as the University of Wisconsin-Superior joined the league and dominated play from the very beginning. After a perfect 16-0 conference season and locking up the regular and postseason titles, the Yellowjackets headline the 2015-2016 UMAC women’s basketball awards – winning both the Coach and Player of the Year awards – announced Tuesday.
The Yellowjackets’ head coach Don Mulhern was voted by his peers UMAC Coach of the Year after leading his squad to its first-ever NCAA appearance, while Yellowjacket sophomore Hailey Kontny was selected UMAC Player of the Year. Bethany Lutheran College rookie Haley Sandin grabbed the final individual award as UMAC Freshman of the Year.
In his 10th season at the helm of the Yellowjackets program, Mulhern’s squad enters the NCAA regional round Friday with an impressive 24-3 record. This season, the Yellowjackets averaged a league-best 73.6 points per game (ppg) and held opponents to just 57.1 ppg – the only UMAC team to hold opponents under 60.0 ppg.
Under Mulhern's direction, the Yellowjackets controlled almost every offensive category in the UMAC and boasted impressive national marks. They currently rank fifth in Division III for rebounding margin (+12.3), 10th in field goal percentage (44.8), 11th in win-loss percentage (88.9) and 17th in scoring margin (+16.5 ppg).
Though the Yellowjackets' success came from balanced depth, one player stood out more than any other as Kontny earned her first All-UMAC honor and was named the top conference player in 2015-2016. The sophomore guard averaged 12.9 ppg – fifth-most by a UMAC player this season – and 4.4 rebounds per game.
In conference games, Kontny shot a remarkable 44.4 percent from the field which was seventh-best in the league. Kontny also boasted the third-best overall free throw percentage at 76.8 percent. Her stat sheet also has an impressive averages of 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game against UMAC foes.
This season, Kontny tallied a team-high 349 points which was fourth-most in the UMAC overall. Twice this season Kontny totaled 23 points in a game and scored in double figures 19 times with two double-double performances. She also led the Yellowjackets in scoring on 12 occasions.
Not to be overlooked, first-year Sandin grabbed the attention of UMAC coaches after leading Bethany Lutheran to a third-place finish in the UMAC standings. In her rookie season, Sandin was second in the league in scoring – 20.0 ppg overall and 16.3 ppg in conference play – and ranked second in free throw percentage (77.0) after making the most trips to the charity stripe of all UMAC players (196 attempts).
Sandin also added to the Vikings’ success dishing out the eighth-most assists per game (2.5) and tallying 2.5 steals per game – fifth-most among all UMAC players.
With a solid group of first-year players, Sandin stood out among the rest finishing second among all scorers with 519 points overall this season. She also scored 30 points or more in a single game three times this season. The guard scored in double figures 21 times and led the Vikings in 17 games.
The remainder of the All-UMAC First Team players also ranked in the top 10 in scoring this season averaging at least 12.0 ppg or more. All five First Team selections are UMAC award winners for the first time in their careers. Bethany Lutheran topped the honors list with Sandin and Minnie Frederick both being named to the First Team. Frederick and University of Northwestern-St. Paul sophomore Amy Berglund also earned spots on the All-Defensive team. Brittani Brennan of the College of St. Scholastica earned the honor after being and Honorable Mention in 2014-2015.
The second team saw familiar faces including North Central University’s Jamie High – a First Team honoree a year ago – and Lizzy Swanson, as well as Briana Brandts of Bethany Lutheran and Regan Cooper of Northwestern. Swanson and Cooper were Honorable Mentions in 2014-2015, while Brandts was a repeat representative on the Second Team. University of Minnesota Morris first-year Elli Stevenson rounded out the Second Team.
The Honorable Mention list boasted former Freshman of the Year honorees Grace Schultz (2014-2015) of Bethany Lutheran and Tori Holt of Minnesota Morris (2013-2014). Desiree Davis of Crown College was also a repeat Honorable Mention nod. Wisconsin-Superior’s Justine Larson picked up both Honorable Mention and All-Defensive team accolades while other Honorable Mention honorees included first-timers Bethany Best of Northland College, Jessica Cole of Northwestern and Erin Schmeling of Martin Luther College.
Each year the UMAC recognizes the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represented sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Northwestern earned the honor for the fourth time. Each team also had one representative on the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year Award* – Hailey Kontny, So., Wisconsin-Superior
Freshman of the Year Award# – Haley Sandin, Fy., Bethany Lutheran
Coach of the Year Award – Don Mulhern, Wisconsin-Superior
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Amy Berglund |
So. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Springfield, Va./West Springfield |
| Brittani Brennan |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
Forward |
Ashland, Wis./Ashland |
| Minnie Frederick |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Flint, Mich./Mankato East |
| Hailey Kontny* |
So. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Haley Sandin# |
Fy. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Zimmerman, Minn./Princeton |
Second-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Briana Brandts |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
St. James, Minn./St. James |
| Regan Cooper |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Forward |
Pella, Iowa/Pella |
| Jamie High |
Sr. |
North Central |
Forward |
Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo |
| Elli Stevenson |
Fy. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Hayti, S.D./Watertown |
| Lizzy Swanson |
So. |
North Central |
Guard |
Askov, Minn./East Central |
Honorable Mention UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Bethany Best |
Jr. |
Northland |
Forward |
Cable, Wis./Drummond |
| Jessica Cole |
So. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk |
| Desiree Davis |
Jr. |
Crown |
Guard |
Houston, Texas/Klein Forest |
| Tori Holt |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Forward |
Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Central |
| Justine Larson |
So. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Stanchfield, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti |
| Erin Schmeling |
Sr. |
Martin Luther |
Guard |
Oakdale, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Grace Schultz |
So. |
Martin Luther |
Guard |
Elkhorn, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran |
UMAC All-Defensive Team
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/HS |
| Cori Becker |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids |
| Amy Berglund |
So. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Springfield, Va./West Springfield |
| Minnie Frederick |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Flint, Mich./Mankato East |
| Jamie High |
Sr. |
North Central |
Forward |
Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo |
| Justine Larson |
So. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Stanchfield, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran – Briana Brandts, Jr., St. James, Minn.
Crown – Hannah Malone, Fy., West Salem, Wis.
Martin Luther –Sarah Koelpin, Sr., De Pere, Wis.
Minnesota Morris – Maja Coomes, Sr., Wahkon, Minn.
North Central – Sydney Steele, Fy., Woodbury, Minn.
Northland – Emily Howe, Fy., Siren, Wis.
Northwestern – Courtney Cunard, Sr., Missouri Valley, Iowa
St. Scholastica – Holly VanKempen, So., Elbow Lake, Minn.
Wisconsin-Superior – Bailee Bartunek, So., Audobon, Minn.