ST. PAUL, Minn. - Bemidji State University juniors Amy Lawson and Stephanie Peterson and sophomore Heidi Matzke all earned 2007 NSIC All-Conference honors the league announced today.
Lawson and Peterson were named to the All-NSIC Second Team while Matzke earned Honorable Mention.
The trio marks the largest number of NSIC All-Conference nods since Erin Walker was named first team and Peggy Hammel-Moran and Jen Ohme earned honorable mention honors at the conclusion of the 1999-2000 season.
Lawson paced the team in both steals and assists this season and ended 17th in all of the NCAA Division II averaging 5.6 assists per game and 33rd in the nation collecting an NSIC-leading 2.8 steals per contest. Her total of 157 assist this season ranks sixth behind her own 2005-06 total of 160 on the all-time single-season assist list at BSU marking the third consecutive season she has found her way onto the top-10 in that category. In three seasons she has compiled 446 assists - a total that seats her just eight assists shy of third on BSU's all-time list. Her team-leading 78 steals also fell just two shy of equaling the school's all-time single-season assist record (80).
The point guard caps her junior campaign leading the team in minutes played per game (32.8), free-throws attempted (131) and made (100), assists (157) and steals (78) while ranking second on the team in scoring (13.1) and rebounding (3.7) and third among her peers with a .460 field goal percentage.
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Lawson was named to the All-NSIC Third Team last year in addition to being the first BSU player to be selected as the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year.
The second-team selection is the second all-conference nod of Peterson's career after joining Lawson on the third-team last winter.
For the second straight season Peterson led the Beavers in both scoring and rebounding standing as just the fifth player in BSU history to complete that feat following in the footsteps of Lori Hutchins (1975-79), Sherry Hill (1978-82), Lora Weiers (1984-88) and Karen Morrissey (1993-97). In addition to leading the team with 13.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, she paced the league in scoring for a large portion of the season and led the NSIC on the glass from the first week of season. She topped 10 rebounds three times with a career-best 18-board effort versus Southwest Minnesota State Jan. 26. She not only led the team, but also the league with 12 double-doubles this season.
Her 2006-07 rebound total of 268 stands as the third-largest single-season total at BSU all-time and is the largest since Morrissey grabbed 278 during the 1996-97 campaign. Her 650 career rebounds ranks seventh on BSU's all-time list.
Lawson and Peterson are two of a group of just nine players in the 40-year history of the BSU women's basketball program to earn two or more all-conference selections.
Matzke concludes her breakout sophomore campaign with the first NSIC selection of her career.
Ranking second at Bemidji State this season in assists (79), three-point field goals made (35) and three-point field goal percentage (.343), Matzke was third on the team, behind Lawson and Peterson, in minutes played (26.5), and scoring (12.4). The sophomore netted a double-figure scoring total in 19 of BSU's 28 games - three times eclipsing the 20-point mark. Her 12.4 ppg average also ranked 11th on the NSIC scoring list.
The Beavers finished the 2006-07 season 14-14 overall and were 9-9 in NSIC play. The team's nine league wins marks the most of any BSU women's basketball team since the Beavers were 9-3 in conference play in 1987-88. In two seasons under Mike Curfman, the Beavers have piled up 27 wins - the best two-season total since BSU earned 27 during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 campaigns.
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2007 NSIC All-Conference teams
First Team
Amanda Behnke C Jr. 6-2 Concordia-St. Paul Eagan, Minn.
Noelle Hall C Jr. 6-2 Northern State Altura, Minn.
Jessica Fessenmaier C Jr. 6-2 MSU Moorhead Olivia, Minn.
Erin McCormick F Sr. 5-11 Wayne State Grant, Neb.
Corrie Villegas F Sr. 6-2 University of Mary Polson, Mont.
Second Team
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Amy Lawson G Jr. 5-4 Bemidji State Spencer, Iowa
Katie LaViolette G Jr. 5-9 Concordia-St. Paul Manitowoc, Wis.
Stephanie Peterson C Jr. 6-1 Bemidji State Bismarck, N.D.
Amanda Reimer F Jr. 5-10 Winona State Reedsburg, Wis.
Carolin Becker F Sr. 6-1 Northern State Beulah, N.D.
Third Team
Katie Walden G So. 5-9 MSU Moorhead Hawley, Minn.
Allison Swenson F Jr. 6-1 MSU Moorhead Halliday, N.D.
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Nicci Landdeck F Jr. 5-11 University of Mary North Bend, Wash.
Lauren Gustafson G Sr. 5-8 Wayne State Omaha, Neb.
Amanda Faas G Sr. 5-8 Upper Iowa Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Honorable Mention
Kelly Lund G Jr. 5-10 Concordia-St. Paul New Brighton, Minn.
Miranda Boepple F Sr. 6-0 Northern State Dickinson, N.D.
Kylee McGill F So. 6-1 Wayne State Little River, Kan.
Heidi Matzke G So. 5-9 Bemidji State Red Lake Falls, Minn.
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Shelby Krueger G Jr. 5-5 Winona State Fall Creek, Wis.
NSIC Player of the Year
Amanda Behnke, Concordia-St. Paul (Jr., C, Eagan, Minn.)
Co-Freshmen of the Year
Andrea Downs (Fr., G, Chicago, Ill.)
Kayla Rogers, University of Mary (Fr., G, Mandan, N.D.)
Defensive Player of the Year
Mary Schroeder, Concordia-St. Paul (Jr., G, Minneapolis, Minn.)
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Coach of the Year
Paul Fessler, Concordia-St. Paul
