BURNSVILLE, Minn. — The 2008-09 Minnesota State women’s basketball team won the first NCAA Division II Championship and will now be enshrined in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame.
The 2008-09 season saw the Mavericks record a program best 32 wins as they went 32-2 on the season, including a 17-0 start to the season. MSU would finish its NSIC schedule with a 19-1 record to secure its first NSIC Championship.
Along the way, three Mavericks including Heather Johnson, Joanne Noreen and Alex Andrews would join the Minnesota State 1,000 point club. Johnson, Noreen and Andrews would all be named to the All-NSIC First Team, while Tiffany Moe earned All-NSIC Second Team honors. Liz Trauger garnered All-NSIC Third Team honors also. Johnson claimed NSIC Player of the Year honors, while Pam Gohl received NSIC Coach of the Year accolades.
Behind its 26-2 record, Minnesota State was selected to host the NCAA Central Region Tournament at Taylor Center. MSU bested Augustana (81-68) and MSU Moorhead (59-39) in the first two rounds, before winning the NCAA Central Region Championship with a 72-61 win over Fort Lewis.
At the NCAA Elite Eight in San Antonio, Texas, the Mavericks kept things rolling with a 61-53 win over Michigan Tech, before trouncing Alaska-Anchorage 83-60 in the NCAA Final Four. In the NCAA Championship, the Mavericks rallied in the second half to defeat Franklin Pierce 103-94 to secure the programs first NCAA Championship. The 197 combined points are still an NCAA DII Championship game record and MSU’s 103 points are the second-most scored by a team in the championship game.
Johnson earned DII Bulletin All-American Second Team honors, while Gohl was named the DII Bulletin Coach of the Year. Johnson and Noreen also received WBCA All-American Honorable Mentions as well.
The 2008-09 team set many program records including wins (32), points (2,763), home wins (16) and field goal % (47.2%).
Team members include: Pam Gohl (Head Coach), Amy Sander (Assistant Coach), Sarah Tracy (Assistant Coach, Heather Johnson, Lauren Barber, Nicole (Christianson) Benish, Casey Christian, Liz (Trauger) Grant, Sarah (Wiens) Heath, Jennie (Noreen) Helget, Mari Korton, Gretta Layman, Tiffany Moe, Flecia (Foster), Neznik, Alex (Andrews) Shepp, Teresa (Parker) Stenzel, Joanne (Noreen) Thomason, Alyssa Van Klei, Andrea Walsh, Laura Weber and Amanda (Nygaard) Williams.