March
4, 2009
CEDAR
RAPIDS , IOWA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (IIAC) announced today that Simpson College senior
forward Carrie Larson (Tipton, Iowa/Tipton)
has been named the 2008-09 IIAC Women’s Basketball Most
Valuable Player and Simpson head coach Brian Niemuth
has been named the 2008-09 IIAC Women’s Basketball Coach
of the Year.
Larson
led Simpson in scoring with 11.3 points per game in 26 contests,
ranking 12th in the Conference in scoring. She also ranked fifth
in the league in 3-point field percentage (42.2 percent) and
sixth in the league in free throw percentage (82.1 percent).
Larson led the Storm in scoring 11 times.
In
16 Conference games, Larson averaged 11.7 points (13th in IIAC)
and shot 46.3 percent from the field (13th), 80.4 percent from
the free-throw line (9th), and 48.6 percent from behind the
3-point line (3rd) against league opponents. Larson is the fifth
Simpson player overall, and second in a row, to be named Iowa
Conference Women’s Basketball MVP.
Niemuth
led Simpson to its Conference-record eighth IIAC women’s
basketball title, its seventh since 1998, with a 14-2 Conference
record. After winning their fifth Conference Tournament title
in ten years, the Storm qualified for their ninth NCAA Tournament
overall, and their fifth in a row, with a 24-3 overall record.
Simpson leads the Conference in scoring offense (79.5 points/game),
scoring defense (61.4 points/game), scoring margin (+18.1),
field goal percentage defense (37.8 percent), 3-point field
goal percentage (39.4 percent), defensive rebounds (27.0 rebounds/game),
made 3-point field goals (7.11 3FG/game), blocked shots (5.52
blocks/game), assists (18.85 assists/game), steals (14.37 steals/game),
turnover margin (+6.78), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.05).
This marks the fifth time Niemuth has been named IIAC Women’s
Basketball Coach of the Year, earning similar honors following
the 1997-98, 1998-99, 2005-06, and 2007-08 seasons.
The
IIAC also announced today the 2008-09 Women’s Basketball
All-Conference Team. The 15-member Team includes six repeat
All-Conference performers including Buena Vista University’s
Margo Muhlbauer, who becomes the 11th player
to be named a First Team All-Conference selection at least three
times. Conference champion Simpson had four All-Conference performers,
while Loras, Luther, and Wartburg had two each.
The
complete 2008-09 IIAC Women’s Basketball All-Conference
Team is here.
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