Geistfeld three-peat highlights 2022 UMAC women's basketball awards
*Photos courtesy of Bethany Lutheran Athletics Communications, Minnesota Morris Athletics Communications/Ryan Coleman, D3photography
ST. PAUL, Minn.---For just the second time in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's basketball history during the Division III era, a player has been named the conference Player of the Year for a third-straight season with Hanna Geistfeld of Bethany Lutheran College taking the nod for the 2021-22 season, it was announced Monday.
Along with Geistfeld, two other important members of Bethany Lutheran's successful season earned top recognition with Haley Meyer grabbing the Rookie of the Year award and Lyle Jones picking up Coach of the Year for the third time in four seasons. Jay Kwateh of the University of Minnesota Morris earned the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year award.
Geistfeld's incredible career was capped off by an unprecedented season in which she became just the 20th player in NCAA Division III history to surpass both 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. The standout forward helped the Vikings to a share of a third-straight UMAC regular season championship behind a UMAC-best 29.2 points per game (ppg), 15.1 rebounds per game (rpg) and 64.5 field goal percentage in conference regular season games.
This season, Geistfeld has been among the best players in the nation. Following tournament play, Geistfeld leads NCAA Division III in field goals made (261), points (699), free throw attempts (215) and scoring (25.9 ppg). She is second in the nation in double doubles (19) and free throws made (169), while her 351 rebounds are fourth and her 13.0 rpg rank ninth.
The senior has been nearly unstoppable tallying 10 games with 30-plus points. She has recorded 20 or more rebounds twice and 15-plus on 11 occasions. Geistfeld has been held below 20 points just six times all season. For her efforts, Geistfeld earned UMAC Player of the Week nine times. She was also named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week five times and was the US Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Player of the Week three times.
Geistfeld finishes her career among the best players in UMAC history during the NCAA Division III era. She ranks first in career points (2,276), career field goals (866) and career field goal percentage (58.1). Geistfeld is also second in career rebounds (1,086) and free throws made (463).
Geistfeld was a key part of the Vikings' success this season, but first-year Meyer stepped up in a big way following injuries to other starters. The rookie guard averaged 12.3 ppg which was 10th in conference play and the top scoring average by a first-year player. Meyer also shot 42.0 percent from the field in UMAC games. The rookie twice surpassed 20 points in a game this season including a 25-point performance in the quarterfinal win over Northland College. Meyer had nine games in double figures and tallied her first collegiate double double vs. North Central University of Jan. 25.
This season was one of just many in recent years of significant success for Jones' Viking squad. The veteran coach earned the respect of his peers after leading the Vikings to a 13-1 conference record and 19-8 overall mark. His Viking squad has now been ranked in three-consecutive NCAA Division III Region IX rankings. In conference games this season, the Vikings topped the list in the following scoring categories: scoring (79.6 ppg), scoring margin (18.6 ppg), field goal percentage (48.8), rebounding (42.5 rpg) and rebounding margin (13.3 rpg). The Vikings also rank sixth in NCAA Division III for field goal percentage (45.3).
For the first time ever, the UMAC basketball coaches named a Defensive Player of the Year. Kwateh – who has earned back-to-back All-Defensive Team honors for Minnesota Morris – was the favorite for the first-time award. The junior forward led the UMAC in conference games for total steals (42) and steals per game (3.0). She also averaged 3.9 rpg and ranked 11th in blocks per game (0.6). Six times this season she recorded four or more steals including two seven-steal performances. Kwateh also helped the Cougars force their opponents into a league-best 22.9 turnovers per game in conference play.
Bethany Lutheran had three players named to one of the three All-UMAC teams, while regular season co-champion University of Northwestern topped the list with four honorees including two First Team selections. North Central and Minnesota Morris also had three total selections each.
Geistfeld one of two players who has been named to one of the three All-UMAC squads four times in their careers along with Kelsea Lund of Northwestern. Geistfeld is the lone player to three times be selected First Team. The three other First Team honorees were all repeat selections including Emily DiGiorgio (North Central), Lexus Eagle Chasing (Minnesota Morris) and Megan Roberts (Northwestern). DiGiorgio and Eagle Chasing were also Second Team honorees in 2019-20.
Five other players were selected to either Second Team or Honorable Mention for the second-straight season. Those players include Kaelyn Christian (University of Wisconsin-Superior), Kadija Conteh (North Central), Hailey Paup (Northwestern), Jadyn Sondrol (Minnesota Morris) and Miranda Wagner (Northland).
Martin Luther 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* – Hanna Geistfeld, Sr., Bethany Lutheran
Defensive Player of the Year Award% – Jay Kwateh, Jr., Minnesota Morris
Rookie of the Year Award# – Haley Meyer, Fy., Bethany Lutheran
Coach of the Year Award – Lyle Jones, Bethany Lutheran
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Emily DiGiorgio |
Sr. |
North Central |
Forward |
Ironwood, Mich./Luther L. Wright |
| Lexus Eagle Chasing |
Sr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Rapid City, S.D./Stevens |
| Hanna Geistfeld* |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Forward |
Truman, Minn./Martin Luther |
| Kelsea Lund |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Madison, Minn./La Qui Parle Valley |
| Megan Roberts |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Forward |
Greeley, Colo./Dayspring Christian Academy |
Second-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Kadija Conteh |
So. |
North Central |
Guard |
London, U.K./City of London Academy |
| Kaelyn Christian |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville |
| Aubrey Robinson |
So. |
North Central |
Guard |
Colorado Springs, Colo./Sierra |
| Hailey Paup |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Forward |
Cedar Falls, Iowa/Concordia Academy |
| Dominique Urbina |
Jr. |
Crown |
Guard |
Indio, Calif./Cathedral City |
Honorable Mention UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/High School |
| Alexis Cloyd |
Fy. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Garden City, Minn./Lake Crystal Welcome Memorial |
| Lexi Hagen |
Fy. |
Northwestern |
Guard |
Jordan, Minn./Jordan |
| Jordyn Heckendorf |
So. |
Martin Luther |
Guard |
Kewaskum, Wis./Kettle Morraine Lutheran |
| Jay Kwateh |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Forward |
Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo |
| McKenzie Latzke |
Jr. |
Crown |
Guard |
Gaylord, Minn./Sibley East |
| Haley Meyer# |
Fy. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Guard |
Centerville, S.D./Centerville |
| Jadyn Sondrol |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Guard |
Grand Forks, N.D./Red River |
| Miranda Wagner |
Jr. |
Northland |
Guard |
Rawlins, Wy./Rawlins |
UMAC All-Defensive Team
| Name |
Year |
School |
Position |
Hometown/HS |
| Emily DiGiorgio |
Sr. |
North Central |
Forward |
Ironwood, Mich./Luther L. Wright |
| Hanna Geistfeld |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Forward |
Truman, Minn./Martin Luther |
| Jay Kwateh% |
Jr. |
Minnesota Morris |
Forward |
Maple Grove, Minn./Osseo |
| Sam Parendo |
So. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Guard |
Proctor, Minn./Proctor |
| Aubrey Robinson |
So. |
North Central |
Guard |
Colorado Springs, Colo./Sierra |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Martin Luther
Bethany Lutheran – Abby Nelson, So., Redwood Falls, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran
Crown – Amy Martius, Jr., Bellview, Minn./Redwood Valley
Martin Luther – Kortney Behnke, Jr., Appleton, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran
Minnesota Morris – Lexie Winter, Sr., Sartell, Minn./Sartell
North Central – Hannah Grubbs, So., Chardon, Ohio/Newbury
Northland – Ashley Lopez, Jr., El Paso, Texas/Americus
Northwestern – Livvy Grosz, So., New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony
Wisconsin-Superior – Brianna O'Donnell, Sr., Richfield, Minn./Richfield