Women's Basketball Wednesday, October 19, 2022 NWC Athletic Communications

2022-23 Women's Basketball Preview

NWC looks to build off their first 20-win season since 2018-19

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College women's basketball team is set to undergo the second season under head coach Kristin Rotert in 2022-23, tipping off the season on November 2 with a trip down south to the state of Kansas.

"We are excited to begin the 22-23 season, our team has worked incredibly hard throughout the last six months to prepare and can't wait to take the court in a few short weeks. The start of practices have been filled with a high level of energy and intensity as we look to build upon a successful 2021-22 campaign. Our team will be led by a core group of seniors in Maddie Jones, Taylor VanderVelde, Hannah Nerem, Zoe Heemstra, and Emilee Danner. We also return junior Honorable Mention All-American, Molly Schany."

2022-23 SEASON OUTLOOK
Coming off a 24-9 campaign a season ago, the first 20-win season since 2018-19, the Red Raiders will look to continue the upward trend heading into the new campaign in 2022-23. Returning Honorable Mention All-American and leading scorer and rebounder in Molly Schany (Jr., Emmetsburg, Iowa) looks to lead the Red Raiders again this season.

Two other All-Conference performers in Maddie Jones (Sr., Twin Lakes, Iowa) and Taylor VanderVelde (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) are set to return to the roster for the 2022-23 campaign. Additionally, eight letter winners from 2021-22 are set to return to the roster this season for the Red Raiders.

"We return 3 starters from last year's team, Jones, VanderVelde, and Schany, all of whom we expect to play a big role for us again this year," noted Rotert. "We are also excited to integrate some new and young players into our rotation that we believe will make a great impact on our season, and that our fan base will really enjoy watching compete."

Of the six non-conference opponents on the schedule, only the first two are away from Orange City in the trip to Kansas. The season will open with the Raiders playing two Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) opponents in Bethel College on Wednesday, November 2 and Tabor College on Friday, November 4. Last season, Northwestern opened the season with a 77-44 win over the Bluejays of Tabor College.

The following weekend, the Raiders will host their annual Pizza Ranch Classic as the Blue Hawks of Dickinson State University (N.D.) and the Trolls of Trinity Christian College (Ill.) come to Orange City on November 11-12, respectively. DSU is coming off an 10-22 season and an 8-8 mark in North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) last season. Trinity Christian is coming off a 14-16 campaign and a 9-13 mark in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play.

After a three-game league road trip, the Raiders return home to play host to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II foe in Chadron State (Neb.) on Saturday, November 26. It'll be the first-ever meeting against Chadron State, an Eagles squad who put up a 7-19 record in 2021-22. The final non-conference game comes just before Christmas on December 20, when the Dakota State Trojans return a home-and-home from last season, where NWC prevailed 63-60 in Madison, S.D.

GPAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Northwestern was picked to finish fourth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) for the second-straight season, picking up 97 team points. It was a tightly contest 2-4 spots, as Dakota Wesleyan picked up 99 points for second-place and Dordt had 98 to snag third-place.

All six teams from the GPAC that earned berths to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament last season, were ranked No. 1 through No. 6 in this season's preseason coaches' poll.

RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE
Northwestern welcomes back three of the five GPAC All-Conference performers from a season ago in Molly Schany (First Team), Maddie Jones (Second Team), and Taylor VanderVelde (Honorable Mention).

Schany, the lone NAIA All-American (Honorable Mention) from a season ago, led the team in scoring (13.8ppg) and rebounding (6.6rpg), while pulling down a team-high 94 offensive rebounds. She also led the team in field goal percentage (55.7%), helping lead Northwestern to a top-15 mark in the NAIA in the category (12^th, 45.6%).

Jones, one of two returners to average double digits per game, averaged 10.5 points per game. The mark sat fourth on the team, and second amongst returners. She led the team in assists (128) and assists per game (3.9), as she looks to continue sharing the rock this season. Additionally, from her guard position, she sat third on the team in rebounds with a mark of 5.2 per game.

VanderVelde averaged the most minutes per game at 31.7. Her 9.3 points per game sat fifth on the team and third amongst returners. She sat second on the team in rebounds (203) and rebounds per game (6.2), joining Schany in being the only two Raiders to eclipse 200-rebounds on the season.

NOTICEABLE NEWCOMERS
The 2022-23 varsity roster welcomes four new freshmen to the team, with all four being guards for Rotert and company. Three of the four hail from the state of South Dakota, with one being from in-state. The incoming freshmen to the varsity roster include Ellie Karolevitz (Yankton, S.D), Payton Beckman (Panora, Iowa), Ashtyn Wobig (Canova, S.D.), and Kylie Foss (Brandon, S.D.).

ROLLING AT HOME
In Rotert's first season leading the program, the Red Raiders were a spectacular 16-1 in front of the home crowd inside the Bultman Center. The lone loss at home came to Dakota Wesleyan on January 1. The Raiders took down six top-25 teams throughout the season, with the highlight win being a one-point win over then No. 4-ranked Morningside (78-77). Early in the season, at the Pizza Ranch Classic, Northwestern dismantled No. 4-ranked Marian (Ind.) 78-62, a team that would eventually wind up in the quarterfinals of the NAIA national tournament.

2021-22 SEASON REWIND
A 24-9 overall record and a 15-7 mark in GPAC play landed the Raiders in a tie for third-place a season ago. The Raiders were a phenomenal 16-1 in front of the home crowd inside the Bultman Center last season, including wins over No. 4 Marian (Ind.), No. 10 Morningside, No. 11 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), No. 19 Concordia (Neb.), and No. 24 Dordt.

Ultimately, the Raiders would snag the No. 4-seed in the GPAC tournament and would defeat the Briar Cliff Chargers for the third time in the season in the Quarterfinals. The semifinals at No. 1-seed Morningside would come down to the wire, as the Raiders would drop a 73-72 decision in Sioux City.

The season came to an end with an 80-75 loss to Midway (Ky.) in the Opening Round of the NAIA national tournament.

GPAC OUTLOOK
League play is set to begin with a trip to Omaha, Neb. on Wednesay, November 16 when the Raiders battle the Flames of the College of Saint Mary. The conference slate begins with a three-game road stint, as after the CSM game the Raiders will play on the road at Doane (Nov. 19) and Midland (Nov. 22).

"We look forward to another challenging year in the GPAC and hope to compete at a high-level night in and night out," concluded Rotert.

The conference home-opener will be on Wednesday, November 30 when the Chargers of Briar Cliff University come to town for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off inside the Bultman Center.

Other key conference dates include the match-ups with Dakota Wesleyan on Thursday, December 15 (Orange City) and Wednesday, February 8 (Mitchell, S.D.). The Mustangs of Morningside come to the Bultman Center on Saturday, December 10 for a 2:00 p.m. tip and the Raiders return the trip to Sioux City on January 25 for a 6:00 p.m. tip.

The first Dordt game of the season will be on Wednesday, December 7 in Sioux Center at 6:00 p.m. The Defenders will come to Orange City on Wednesday, February 15 for the final home game of the regular season with tip-off also slated for 6:00 p.m.

The quarterfinals of the GPAC conference tournament is set for Wednesday, February 22 with the location, time, and opponent to be announced at a later date. The Opening Round of the NAIA national tournament, should the Raiders earn a bid, is set for March 7-8, 2023 at a site to be announced at the selection show.

THE ROTERT PROFILE
Entering her second season, head coach Kristin Rotert looks to continue the momentum built in 2021-22. She coached five All-Conference honorees and one NAIA All-American in Molly Schany (Honorable Mention) her first season in Orange City. Her first win of her collegiate head coaching career came in the season-opener last season, downing Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) foe Tabor College 77-44 in Orange City.

She sits one win away from win No. 25 entering the 2022-23 campaign, with her first two opportunities to pick it up down in Kansas.

FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
All home games inside the Bultman Center will be live streamed (free to watch) on nwcraiders.com and will also have live stats, powered by SIDEARM Sports. Links to the stream and stats can be found on the women's basketball schedule page. All GPAC conference games can also be listened to on the radio on KSOU (93.9 FM), courtesy of Sioux County Radio with Doug Broek on the call.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

#12 Emilee Danner: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#4 Maddie Jones: G; 5' 5"; Senior

#35 Hannah Nerem: F; 5' 10"; Senior

#34 Molly Schany: F; 6' 1"; Junior

#15 Taylor VanderVelde: G; 5' 8"; Senior

#3 Ellie Karolevitz: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

#10 Payton Beckman: G; 5' 5"; Freshman

#14 Ashtyn Wobig: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

#22 Kylie Foss: G; 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#12 Emilee Danner
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#4 Maddie Jones
: 5' 5"; Senior
: G

#35 Hannah Nerem
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F

#34 Molly Schany
: 6' 1"; Junior
: F

#15 Taylor VanderVelde
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

#3 Ellie Karolevitz
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G

#10 Payton Beckman
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: G

#14 Ashtyn Wobig
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

#22 Kylie Foss
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: G