NSIC announces women’s basketball postseason awards

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (NSIC) — The Northern Sun Conference announced their postseason awards for women’s basketball.

Augustana’s Aislinn Duffy was named the NSIC South Player of the Year. She and Lauren Sees earned First Team All-Conference honors, while Michaela Jewett earned second team honors.

Northern State’s Laurie Rodgers also earned Second Team All-Conference honors.

NSIC North Division Player of the Year
#24 Brooke Olson (F, 6-2, 5th,  Rice Lake, Wis. / Rice Lake HS) – Minnesota Duluth
– Now a four-time NSIC North Player of the Year, having won the award four-consecutive times
– Four-time NSIC North Player of the Week this season
– Two-time D2CIDA Player of the Week this year
– Finished the year as the NSIC’s all-time leading scorer in regular season conference contests with 1615 total points
– Averaged 21.2 points a game overall, a mark that’s first in the NSIC and 10th in the entire country
– Led UMD in rebounds per game with 7.1
– Surpassed 2000 career points a (just the third UMD player do so) and currently sits with 2270 points
– Moved to second on the NCAA DII all-time scoring list among active players
– Notched a new career-high of 40 points in the last regular season game of her career on Feb. 18 against Bemidji State

NSIC South Division Player of the Year
#32 Aislinn Duffy (F, 6-0, Sr., Rapid City, S.D. / St. Thomas More HS) – Augustana
– Led NSIC with 11 double-doubles
– Led Augustana in points, rebounds and assists; marks that rank 5th, 4th and 3rd per game in the NSIC, respectively
– Recorded the NSIC’s only triple-double in the 2022-23 regular season, and one of just 12 in NCAA DII this year
– Received four NSIC South Division Players of the Week, the most in the division and tied for most in NSIC
– Scored a career-high 35 points in win at Upper Iowa on Feb. 4
– Scored in double figures on 24 occasions
– Secured 9 or more rebounds in 15 games

NSIC Defensive Player of the Year
#1 Joey Batt (G, 5-5, Jr., New Ulm, Minn. / New Ulm HS) – Minnesota State
– Led the NSIC in steals with 71 in 22 games (3.2 spg)
– Record eight steals in a game this season,
– Has recorded at least two steals or more in 23 games this season
– Ranks seventh in NCAA DII in steals with 81 and sixth in steals per game with 3.12
– Became the 23rd Maverick to reach 1,000 career points at Minnesota State
– Ranks ninth all-time in scoring at MSU with 1,353 points
– Ranks third all-time at Minnesota State in career steals with 251
– Has scored at least 10 points in 22 games this season, including seven games where she scored 20 points or more

NSIC Freshman of the Year
#1 Emma Miller (5-1, Fr., Albertville, Minn. / St. Michael-Albertville HS) – Minnesota Crookston
– Miller is third all-time in single-season scoring at Minnesota Crookston with 506 points
– Ranks second in the NSIC in scoring with 18.1 points per game
– Highest scoring freshman in Minnesota Crookston history
– Only the third player in Golden Eagle history to score over 500 points in a season
– Set the program single-game record for scoring with 37 points December 17 against Bemidji State

NSIC Coach of the Year
Mandy Pearson – Minnesota Duluth
– Named NSIC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career
– Third-consecutive season winning at least a share of the NSIC Championship, something done only four times before
– Led UMD to its fourth-straight NSIC North Title under her coaching tenure
– Secured another 20-win record, her fourth in eight seasons at UMD, with a 24-3 regular season mark
– Finished the year 21-1 in NSIC play, just the second women’s team to win 21 NSIC contests in a season
– Crossed 100 NSIC conference victories, currently sitting with 118

2022-23 NSIC All-Conference Teams

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 25 team national championships and crowned 96 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.