Wayne State College placed four players on the College Sports Communicators 2023-24 Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team released Tuesday morning.  The award is voted on by College Sports Communicators and requires recipients to record a minimum 3.50 grade point average while also playing in at least 90 percent of games and/or starting in 66 percent of teams' contests.
            Junior Abby Kopecky is a repeat Academic All-District honoree while Maya Fitzpatrick, Tate Norblade and Kylah vanDonkersgoed also earned Academic All-District Team awards.
            Kopecky, a 5-10 junior guard from Aberdeen, S.D. (Aberdeen Central HS), maintains a 3.896 grade point average majoring in biology.  She averaged 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this season while starting 24 of 25 games.  Kopecky ranked third on the team in assists (33) and steals (24).
            Fitzpatrick, a 5-10 junior forward from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota (Champlin HS), posted a 3.604 grade point average majoring in science education 7-12 and was one of just two players to start all 25 games this season.  She ranked second on the team in scoring (9.5) and rebounding (3.2) and led the Wildcats in steals (59), assists (58) and blocked shots (19), ranking third in the NSIC in steals per game and 12^th in blocked shots.  Fitzpatrick had 12 games scoring double figures led by career-high 22 points with six assists at Sioux Falls (12/19/23).
            Norblade is a 5-9 junior guard from Papillion (Papillion LaVista South HS) and carries a 3.911 grade point average majoring in physical education.  She appeared in all 25 games this season for the Wildcats accounting for 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.  Norblade shot a team-high 47.5 percent (48-101) from the field and 80.6 percent (25-31) at the free throw line and had two of her best games during the season vs. Northern State, scoring a career-high 17 points on 6-7 shooting at Northern State (1/12/24) to go with 11 points vs. Northern State in Wayne (2/24/24), scoring the game-winning basket in 67-65 win.
            vanDonkersgoed, a 6-1 sophomore forward from Sioux Falls, S.D. (S.F. Christian HS), recorded a 3.66 grade point average while majoring in criminal justice.  She produced 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game this season, playing in all 25 contests and leading the Wildcats in offensive rebounds (24).  vanDonkersgoed had season-highs of eight points vs. Concordia-St. Paul (2/2/24) and at Winona State (2/10/24).
            Wayne State is an NCAA Division II school located in Wayne, Nebraska and competes in the 15-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  The Wildcats were 7-18 last season and finished 4-18 in NSIC games.