February
27, 2007
CEDAR
RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (IIAC) announced today that Luther College sophomore
forward Blair Ernst (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington)
has been named the 2006-07 IIAC women’s basketball Most
Valuable Player and Luther head coach Jane Hildebrand
has been named the 2006-07 IIAC women’s basketball
Coach of the Year.
Ernst
led Luther in scoring and rebounding with 13.7 points and 6.5
rebounds per game in 26 contests, ranking ninth and seventh
in the Conference in the respective categories. She shot 53.8
percent from the floor (149-of-277), which was third in the
IIAC, and ranked 14th with a 69.0 free throw percentage (58-of-84).
Ernst led the Norse in scoring 12 times, in rebounding 11 times
and in both categories six times.
In 16 Conference
games, Ernst averaged 14.2 points (t-7th in IIAC) and 7.2 rebounds
per game (5th). She shot 54.0 percent from the floor (2nd) and
69.2 percent from the free throw line (14th) against Conference
opponents.
Hildebrand
led Luther to its Conference-record seventh IIAC women’s
basketball title, first since 2001-02, with a 15-1 Conference
record. After winning their first-ever Conference Tournament
title, the Norse qualified for their ninth NCAA Tournament,
first since 1998, with a 22-4 overall record. Luther has won
a school-record 16 straight games and leads the Conference in
scoring defense (51.5 points/game), turnover margin (+3.0),
steals (12.96/game), rebound margin (+3.9) and field goal percentage
defense (35.6 percent). This marks the fifth time Hildebrand
has been named IIAC women’s basketball Coach of the Year,
earning similar honors following the 1987-88, 1988-89, 1990-91
and 1999-2000 seasons.
The
IIAC also announced today the 2006-07 women’s basketball
All-Conference Team. The 15-member Team includes eight repeat
All-Conference performers including University of Dubuque’s
Courtney Musser and Loras College’s Natalie
Pucci who become the IIAC’s 24th and 25th three-time
All-Conference picks. Conference Champion Luther had four All-Conference
performers, equaling the 1982-83 Central and 2003-04 Buena Vista
teams for most All-Conference selections in one year. Simpson
had three, and Buena Vista and Loras each had two.
The
complete 2006-07 IIAC women’s basketball All-Conference
Team is here.
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