February 28, 2008

BEMIDJIL, Minn. -- Bemidji State University seniors Amy Lawson (PG, Spencer, Iowa) and Stephanie Peterson (C, Bismarck, N.D.) along with junior Heidi Matzke (G, Red Lake Falls, Minn.) have each earned 2008 NSIC All-Conference honors for their play during the 2007-08 season, announced by the league today. Lawson was named to the All-NSIC First Team while Matzke earned a spot on the Third Team and Peterson earned Honorable Mention honors.

It is the second consecutive season that BSU has posted three players on the NSIC All-Conference team and it is the fifth time that the Beavers have had at least three players garner NSIC All-Conference honors in a season. Lawson’s first team nod is the first time BSU has had a player named to the All-NSIC First Team since Stacia Swanson earned First Team honors in 2004.

Lawson, a three-time All-NSIC pick, led the conference in steals (2.30 spg) was second in assists (6.78 apg) and assist to turnover ratio (2.26). During her four years at BSU she has placed her self in the top ten in six categories. She holds the top two spots for single game scoring as she broke the Bemidji State women’s basketball team’s 14-year single game scoring mark twice during her senior campaign. On Jan. 19 she netted 38 points in a 84-82 win over Winona State to break Holly Logghe’s mark of 36 points set during the 1994-95 season. Two weeks later Lawson broke her two-week old record by exploding for 39 points in a 92-91 overtime win over MSU Moorhead on Feb. 2. She sits in eighth place on BSU’s scoring list with 1,187 points, second on BSU’s career assist list with 622 and second on BSU’s career steals list with 289 steals--just five steals shy of the all-time record. She owns three of the top-10 single-season assist and steals totals. This season she leads the Beavers with a career-best 183 assists, in minutes played (33.7), steals (62), scoring (14.9), free-throws attempted (150) and made (113), field goal percentage (.539) while ranking second in three-point field goal percentage (.529) and fourth among her peers hauling in 4.3 rebounds per game. Lawson currently ranks sixth in the nation in assist and ninth in assist to turnover ratio. She has garnered NSIC Player of the Week honors twice this season. Lawson became one of the elite players in BSU history during her senior campaign as she joined Kim Babula (1983-87) as the only other player in BSU history to amass 1,000 points, 600 assists, and 200 steals in a career.

Lawson was selected to the All-NSIC Second Team last year in addition to being named to the All-NSIC third-team and the first BSU player to be selected as the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year in 2006.

Matzke makes her second appearance on the NSIC All-Conference team as a third-team selection this season. After a breakout campaign during her sophomore season in which she earned NSIC All-Conference Honorable Mention honors Matzke became one of the Beavers main scoring threats during the 2007-08 season. She currently ranks second on the team in scoring 14.6 points per game, assists (70) and minutes played (30.7) while sitting in third with 33 steals while pulling down 4.8 rebounds per game. Five times this season she has gone for more than 20 points and was named the NSIC Player of the Week Feb. 11 after she netted a career-high 32 points in a win over the University of Minnesota, Crookston. In the game she made a career-high 13 field goals on 23 attempts (.565) while draining a career-best 6-of-11 (.545) from behind the three point arc.

The honorable mention selection is the third all-conference nod of Peterson’s career after joining Lawson on the second-team last season.

For the fourth straight season Peterson led the Beavers in rebounding becoming the only BSU player to lead her team in rebounding for four consecutive seasons. Along with rebounds she leads her team with a .831 free throw percentage. Peterson is second among her peers with a .477 field goal percentage third on the team with 11.9 points per game and is fourth in minutes played (23.7). During her senior campaign she etched her name in the BSU record books becoming the third player in BSU history to amass 1,000 points and 800 rebounds during her career. Peterson sits in ninth on BSU’s scoring list with 1,171 points and is second on BSU’s all-time rebound list with 852. Peterson recorded a team-high seven double-double performances while hauling in 10 or more rebounds eight times in 2008. She ranked fourth in the NSIC in rebounding (7.5) and free throw percentage (.831).

Lawson and Peterson are two of a group of four players in the 40-year history of the BSU women’s basketball program to earn three all-conference selections.

Finishing the conference season 9-9, good for sixth place in the league standings, the Bemidji State women’s team will travel to Bismarck, N.D. to take on the University of Mary in the first round of the NSIC Tournament on Saturday, March, 1. Tip off is slated for 7:00 p.m. from U-Mary’s Activity Center.

Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

2008 NSIC All-Conference Teams
First Team
Amy Lawson G Sr. 5-4 Bemidji State University Spencer, Iowa
Katie LaViolette G Sr. 5-9 Concordia-St. Paul Manitowoc, Wis.
Amanda Behnke C Sr. 6-2 Concordia-St. Paul Eagan, Minn.
Nicci Landdeck F Sr. 5-11 University of Mary North Bend, Wash.
Noelle Hall C Sr. 6-2 Northern State Altura, Minn.

Second Team
Allison Swenson F Sr. 6-1 MSU Moorhead Halliday, N.D.
Jessica Fesenmaier C Sr. 6-3 MSU Moorhead Olivia, Minn.
Laquisha Cook G Jr. 5-9 Wayne State College Houston, Texas
Jenny Steffen G Jr. 5-10 Wayne State College De Pere, Wis.
Amanda Reimer F Sr. 5-10 Winona State Reedsburg, Wis.

Third Team
Heidi Matzke G Jr. 5-9 Bemidji State University Red Lake Falls, Minn.
Kelly Lund G Sr. 5-10 Concordia-St. Paul New Brighton, Minn.
Kayla Rogers G So. 5-9 University of Mary Mandan, N.D.
Andrea Schoepf G Sr. 5-9 Wayne State College South Sioux City, Neb.
Kylee McGill F Jr. 6-1 Wayne State College Little River, Kan.

Honorable Mention
Stephanie Peterson C Sr. 6-1 Bemidji State University Bismarck, N.D.
Candace Olstad F Jr. 6-0 Bemidji State University Elgin, Minn.
Jamie Zelinsky F Fr. 5-11 Minnesota, Crookston Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Jaclyn Arns G Sr. 5-6 Northern State University St. Michael, Minn.
Sara Leidall F Jr. 5-11 Southwest Minnesota State Rochester, Minn.

Individual Awards
2007-08 NSIC Co-Players of the Year
Amanda Behnke, Concordia-St. Paul (Sr., C, Eagan, Minn.)
Katie LaViolette, Concordia-St. Paul (Sr., G, Manitowoc, Wis.)

2007-08 NSIC Co-Freshmen of the Year
Jamie Zelinsky, Minnesota, Crookston (Fr., F, Brooklyn Park, Minn.)
Jodi Boss, Wayne State (Fr., C, Columbus, Neb.)

2007-08 NSIC Defensive Player of the Year
Mary Schroeder, Concordia-St. Paul (Sr., G, Minneapolis, Minn.)

2007-08 NSIC Coach of the Year
Paul Fessler, Concordia-St. Paul

--beavers--