BOERIGTER JOINS

Miaa Hall Of Fame

The Bearcat women’s basketball team finished its second consecutive season at .500 or better for the first time since the program’s 2007-08 campaign.

Northwest went 15-15 overall in 2022-23 and bounced back from an 0-5 start in MIAA play to take the No. 8 seed in the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City with a league mark of 10-13. After a 70-54 firstround win over Newman, the Bearcats bowed out to topseeded Nebraska-Kearney in the quarterfinals.

Sophomore Molly Hartnett earned third-team all-MIAA honors, and sophomore Kelsey Fields gained honorable mention status. Junior Jayna Green secured a spot on the MIAA’s All-Defensive team.

Hartnett led the Bearcats in scoring (13.3 ppg) and assists (91) with 20-plus points in five games. She also led the MIAA and ranked No. 10 in the nation in free-throw percentage (90.7%).

Fields topped the MIAA in rebounding, averaging 9.2 per game, and posted double-figure rebounds in 14 contests. She also led the team with five doubledoubles, including a season-high 20 points with 16 rebounds in a

72-48 win over Lincoln on Jan. 21. She grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds in a 68-46 win over Northeastern State on Feb. 11. Green became the program’s all-time leader in blocked shots and accumulated 140 blocks since joining the program in 2019-20. She was credited with a team-best 35 blocks this past season.

The women’s basketball team had 14 student-athletes earn MIAA academic honors. Hartnett, Fields, sophomore Peyton Kelderman and sophomore Evelyn Vazquez each earned spots on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.

As the team looks ahead, head coach Austin Meyer '06, '08, announced in May the hiring of long-time coach and hall of famer Chris Guess as assistant coach. Guess has spent the last 32 years as a high school coach in Iowa, where he captured a pair of state championships at Waukee High School. Guess was inducted into the Iowa Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022 and led his teams to 15 state tournament appearances during tenures at Centerville, Glenwood, Ottumwa and Waukee.

Dr. Bob Boerigter, who served as director of athletics at Northwest from 2001 until 2010, was inducted into the MidAmerica Intercollegiate Athletics Association Hall of Fame on June 6 as part of its 2023 class.

“Dr. Bob,” as he is known, has served as a coach and administrator in intercollegiate athletics for 45 years, including as MIAA commissioner from 2010 until 2017. During his time as commissioner, the MIAA produced 10 national champions in six sports. Boerigter also received the Division II Athletics Director Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Boerigter has served as director of athletics at five institutions, making his final stop in the role at Northwest, where he was the lead administrator for the Department of Athletics, including recreational sports, club sports, campus recreation and the fitness center.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in physical education, Boerigter began his career in 1972 at Northwestern College in Iowa where he assumed the roles of basketball, baseball, football and golf coach. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

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