Champion Yellowjackets take two of top 2016-17 UMAC women's basketball awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2016-17 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's basketball season wrapped up with the University of Wisconsin-Superior claiming back-to-back regular and postseason titles following an exciting conference slate of games. Now, the champion Yellowjackets are being rewarded capturing a league-best five all-conference honors and the top two player awards as selected by conference coaches, announced Wednesday.
The Yellowjackets' Hailey Kontny was selected by the coaches as the UMAC Player of the Year for the second-straight season, while first-year player Eva Reinertsen of the Yellowjackets took the Freshman of the Year Award. The coaches picked peer Tim Grove of the University of Minnesota Morris as the UMAC Coach of the Year after leading his squad to a 14-2 record and the conference postseason title game.
In just its second season in the conference, Wisconsin-Superior has established itself as the "team to beat" in women's basketball completing another 16-0 UMAC season thanks in large part to the stellar play of Kontny. The junior backed up her strong sophomore campaign with an even better season this year in which she averaged 14.0 points per game (ppg) to rank in the top 10 in league scoring. Kontny was among the top shooters in the league averaging 41.1 percent from the field. She also completed a strong stat line with 6.0 rebounds per game.
Kontny was a true impact player for the Yellowjackets tallying team-high point totals in seven of the Yellowjackets' conference wins this season. In those games, she tallied 20 points or more three times and had a career-high 31 points in the win over Northland College on Jan. 28. She also recorded two double-doubles including one to seal up the regular season title against Minnesota Morris in the final game of the season. She was also twice named the UMAC Player of the Week.
Though Kontny is the current leader of the Yellowjackets on the court, Reinertsen could be the team's leader in the future as the Yellowjackets couldn't have asked for a better rookie season from a first-year player. Reinertsen averaged 11.0 ppg coming off the bench in conference games and also had 3.6 rebounds per game. Even more impressive, Reinertsen led the Yellowjackets in scoring in UMAC play on seven occassions including a 21-point performance against Minnesota Morris in early January when the two squads were undefeated.
Speaking of Minnesota Morris, the Cougars may have lost all three contests against the Yellowjackets this season, but still managed to finish second in the league with just two losses. Coach Grove led his Cougars to their 12th-consecutive postseason appearance following a stellar conference season in which they outscored UMAC opponents by an average of 13.6 ppg. They were second in scoring (72.3 ppg) and held opponents to just 58.7 ppg. Grove's squad boasted the top field goal defense (33.5) and was lights out from beyond the arc shooting a league-best 37.6 percent that matched the Yellowjackets and averaged nearly eight made 3-pointers per game.
Highlighting the UMAC all-conference awards was Wisconsin-Superior picking up five total nods with Kontny and Hannah Norlin scooping up First Team honors. Kontny was a repeat All-UMAC First Team selection, as were Amy Berglund of the University of Northwestern and 2015-16 Freshman of the Year Haley Sandin of Bethany Lutheran College. Elli Stevenson of Minneosta Morris rounded out the First Team after picking up Second Team honors as a rookie last year.
Minnesota Morris was second in the voting with three players recognized, while the remaining three playoff teams in Bethany Lutheran, Martin Luther College and Northwestern each had two players earn honors. In addition to Berglund, Kontny, Sandin and Stevenson, five other players earned a spot on one of the three teams for the second time in their careers including Bethany Best (Northland College), Minnie Frederick-Childress (Bethany Lutheran), Justine Larson (Wisconsin-Superior), Tiffany Stubbs (Northwestern) and Lizzy Swanson (North Central University).
Additionally, Berglund and Frederick-Childress were repeat selections to the All-Defensive Team while Tori Holt of Minnesota Morris and Grace Schultz of Martin Luther were picked for the defensive team after previously being honored with All-UMAC honors two or more times and being Freshman of the Year honorees.
Northwestern won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year Award* – Hailey Kontny, Jr., Wisconsin-Superior
Freshman of the Year Award# – Eva Reinertsen, Fy., Wisconsin-Superior
Coach of the Year Award – Tim Grove, Minnesota Morris
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Amy Berglund |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Springfield, Va./West Springfield |
| Hailey Kontny* |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Hannah Norlin |
So. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield |
| Haley Sandin |
So. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Zimmerman, Minn./Princeton |
| Elli Stevenson |
So. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Hayti, S.D./Watertown |
Second-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Bethany Best |
Sr. |
Northland |
Forward |
Cable, Wis./Drummond |
| Minnie Frederick-Childress |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Flint, Mich./Mankato East |
| Justine Larson |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Stanchfield, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti |
| Mauren Thiesen |
So. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Sauk Centre, Minn./Sauk Centre |
| Michala Walther |
So. |
St. Scholastica |
Guard |
Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy |
Honorable Mention UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Bailee Bartunek |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Audobon, Minn./Lake Park-Audubon |
| Kendra Raths |
So. |
Minnesota Morris |
Forward |
Sartell, Minn./Sartell |
| Eva Reinertsen# |
Fy. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Duluth, Minn./Denfeld |
| Mariah Schoof |
Sr. |
Martin Luther |
Forward |
New Ulm, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran |
| Jade St. Germaine |
Jr. |
Martin Luther |
Forward |
Watertown, Wis./Luther Prep |
| Tiffany Stubbs |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian |
| Lizzy Swanson |
Jr. |
North Central |
Guard |
Askov, Minn./East Central |
UMAC All-Defensive Team
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/HS |
| Amy Berglund |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Springfield, Va./West Springfield |
| Minnie Frederick-Childress |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Flint, Mich./Mankato East |
| Tori Holt |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Forward |
Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Central |
| Justine Larson |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Forward |
Stanchfield, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti |
| Grace Schultz |
Jr. |
Martin Luther |
Guard |
Elkhorn, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran – Dakota Ellinghuysen, Jr., Peterson, Minn./Hope Lutheran
Crown – Katie Hinkle, Sr., Dows, Iowa/Clarion-Goldfield
Martin Luther – Crystal Carmichael, Jr., Shakopee, Minn./Saint Croix Lutheran
Minnesota Morris – Jordan Halvorson, Sr., Madison, Minn./Laq Qui Parle Valley
North Central – Sydney Steele, So., Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy
Northland – Katerine Taylor, So., Vero Beach, Fla./Sebastian River
Northwestern – Rachel Hart, Sr., Elgin, Minn./Home School
St. Scholastica – Zoe Bystrom, So., Cook, Minn./North Woods HS
Wisconsin-Superior – Bailee Bartunek, Jr., Audobon, Minn./Lake Park-Audubon