NSIC All-Conference Women's Basketball Release
Ashley Arlen and Mara Hjelle of Wayne State College were named to the 2009-10 NSIC Women's Basketball All-Conference Team announced today by the league office in St. Paul, Minnesota. Both players were selected to the First Team and Hjelle was one of five players named to the All-Defensive Team while head coach Chris Kielsmeier was named the NSIC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
Arlen, a 6-2 sophomore forward from Cascade, Iowa, ranked second in NSIC games in scoring at 19.7 points per game and was fifth in league games in rebounding at 8.4 boards a contest. Arlen had seven double-doubles in conference games and scored in double figures in 19 of 20 league games for the Wildcats. She had three games of 30 or more points with a season-high 33 points at Bemidji State on January 3rd and had five more games with 20 or more points. In NSIC play, Arlen shot 46.4 percent (136 of 293) from the field and 71 percent (93 of 131) from the free throw line for the Wildcats.
Hjelle, a 6-2 junior center from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, ranked 10th in NSIC games at 14.2 points and was third in league games at 9.0 rebounds per game for the Wildcats this season. She also ranked first in NSIC games in offensive rebounds (3.70), was second in blocked shots (1.25) and third in steals (2.20). Hjelle had seven double-doubles in conference play highlighted by a season-high 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a 87-69 win at Concordia-St. Paul on January 30th. In NSIC games, Hjelle shot 44.1 percent (105 of 238) from the field and 81.3 percent (74 of 91) at the free throw stripe. Hjelle was a Second Team All-NSIC selection last season as a sophomore.
Kielsmeier was named the NSIC Coach of the Year in just his second season as head coach of the Wildcats. Predicted for a seventh place finish in the preseason coaches poll, Wayne State posted a 16-4 mark in league play to tie for second place with Augustana and finished just one game back of NSIC regular season champion Concordia-St. Paul. In two seasons of NSIC play, Kielsmeier has coached the Wildcats to a 28-12 record. Under Kielsmeier, Wayne State led the NSIC this season in scoring defense (58.7) and field goal percentage defense (.369).
Wayne State is 24-4 on the season and has won 13 straight games heading into Saturday's 2:00 p.m. contest against Augustana College in the semi finals of the 2010 NSIC Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota.
