Women's Basketball All-Conference

March 5, 2002

McKendree College Shocks Columbia College in AMC Title Game

Columbia, Mo. – The McKendree College women's basketball team secured its spot in the NAIA Division I Women’s National Tournament bracket tonight, defeating top-seeded Columbia College in the championship game of the American Midwest Conference postseason tournament last night by a final score of 82-77 . The Bearcats will compete in the NAIA's 32-team national tournament on March 13-19 at the Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. Columbia will receive an at-large bid into the tournament as well.

In addition, in a vote by league coaches, Missy Wilt, a 5-9 guard for the Cougars, has been named the most valuable player as well as the newcomer of year in the AMC. The most valuable player is the top votegetter in all-conference voting. The newcomer of the year honor is bestowed on the top transfer student in the AMC.

Wilt made the move to Columbia College from Penn Valley Community College this season. In her first season as a Cougar, she led the team in scoring, dropping in 16.9 points an outing. She dropped in 32 three-pointers during the regular season and led the team in free throw percentage, netting 79 percent of her attempts. The Lone Jack, Mo. native also passed out 3.1 assists and snagged 3.7 rebounds per game, leading Columbia to an overall record of 30-4 and a league regular season mark of 12-0.

The AMC Freshman of the Year is Niamh Dwyer from McKendree College. In her rookie campaign for the Bearcats, Dwyer, who hails from Thurles, Ireland, led her team in scoring, assists and steals. She totaled 14.6 points, 3.7 assists and 3.4 steals a game. In addition, in a league game vs. William Woods University on Jan. 31, Dwyer recorded her first career triple-double, tallying 16 points, 12 rebounds and ten assists.

The AMC Coach of the Year is Mike Davis from Columbia College. In his first season at the helm of the Columbia College program, which is in its inaugual season, Davis led the Cougars to regular season and postseason tournament league titles. The Cougars were ranked as high as No. 17 in the NAIA Top 25 Rating, and recorded an overall mark of 30-4, finishing with a perfect 12-0 mark vs. league foes in conference regular season action.

A complete list of the 11-member AMC All-Conference team, the Honorable Mention squad and the Academic All-Conference team, is included on the following pages. Members of the Academic All-Conference team have earned at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

Most Valuable Player	Newcomer of the Year
Missy Wilt (JR), Columbia College Guard from Lone Jack, Missouri	Missy Wilt (JR), Columbia College Guard from Lone Jack, Missouri
Freshman of the Year	Coach of the Year
Niamh Dwyer, McKendree College Guard from Thurles, Ireland	Mike Davis (1^st Season), Columbia College 2001-02 Record: 31-3, 14-0

Player	School	Pos.	YR	Hometown
B.J. Homer	Columbia College	Guard	JR	Moore, OK
Lisa Kowalewski	Columbia College	Guard	FR	St. Charles, MO
Missy Wilt	Columbia College	Guard	JR	Lone Jack, MO
Carrie Chinn	Hannibal-LaGrange College	Forward	SR	Monroe City, MO
Delena White	Hannibal-LaGrange College	Forward	JR	Shelbyville, IN
Jacque Clark	McKendree College	Guard	SO	Paris, IL
Niamh Dwyer	McKendree College	Guard	FR	Thurles, Ireland
Christina Johnson	Missouri Baptist College	Forward	SR	Lima, OH
Janette Kauffman	William Woods University	Forward	JR	Jefferson City, MO
Brooke Benson	Williams Baptist College	Forward	SR	Imboden, AR
Amy Dixon-Pratt	Williams Baptist College	Guard	SR	Marmaduke, AR

Player	School
Tilly Payne	Columbia College
Katy Foster	Hannibal-LaGrange College
Lauren Dunseath	McKendree College
Kristin Hustedde	McKendree College
Andrea Smith	Missouri Baptist College
Ashley Hardin	Williams Baptist College
Whitney Rooks	Williams Baptist College

Columbia College
Katie Dorson, Tiffany Foote, B.J. Homer, Lisa Kowalewski, Mindy Mitchem, Christina Steffes

Hannibal-LaGrange College
Jamie Amberger, C.K. Cayce, Carrie Chinn, Carrie Condit, Misty Evans, Katy Foster, Sarah Laird, Kathleen Stoner, Laura Wardwell, Delena White

Harris-Stowe State College
Dorothy Cohen, Tiera Glasper, Tracy Taylor

McKendree College
Amy Anderson, Michelle Beiermann, Becky Bisso, Karla Carroll, Niamh Dwyer, Jackie Harlin, Kelly Hasheider, Kristin Hustedde, Meghan Martz, Karyle Penelton, Jackie Shubert, Stephanie Sparks, Jennifer Stearns, Aimee Westlake, Angie Witte

Missouri Baptist College
Sara Bommarito, Kari Campbell, Rachel Gittinger, Maisa Lopez, Jennifer McMillion, Jennifer Prewitt, Cassie Stempel, Meleisha Purcell, Stephanie Simpson, Ruth Washington

William Woods University
Kristen Franke, Janette Kauffman, Laura Maxwell, Jessica Mrazek, Amy O’Brien

Williams Baptist College
Brooke Benson, Carrie Browning, Tara Dixon, Sara Hansen, Ashley Hardin, Lindsey Larry, Charlotte LaFevers, Sara Long, Stephanie Long, Sarah Minor, Amy Dixon-Pratt, Autum Primm, Whitney Rooks

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