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April 1, 2006

2005-06 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL REVIEW

2005-06 WBB REVIEW

Nancy Marcum grabs Most Valuable Player honor for Vikings

Senior center Nancy Marcum (LeRoy HS, LeRoy, Ill.) was selected as the Most Valuable Player for the 2005-06 Augustana Vikings women’s basketball team. Marcum, a two year starter, was the second leading scorer and the top rebounder for head coach James Black’s team. She scored a total of 241 points for a 9.6 average and hauled down 116 total rebounds for a mark of 7.4 per game. Marcum shot .453 (86-190) from the floor to lead the team in that category as well and she hit on .750 (69-92) of her free throws. She had 21 assists, a team high 24 blocked shots and 30 steals.

Augustana finished the season with a 6-19 overall record and an 0-14 mark in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin. The Vikings placed fifth in the Clarke Holiday Tournament and had impressive non conference victories over Wisconsin-Platteville (60-54 on the road on November 30) and Wartburg (75-63 at home on December 10).

Freshman Sarah Rachwalski (Amos Alonzo Stagg HS, Palos Hills, Ill.) was voted the team’s Most Improved Player. Rachwalski, who started the season on the junior varsity, played in eight varsity games and scored two points, grabbed six rebounds and had one steal. The Best Defensive Player honor went to junior guard Kim Rymer (Vernon Hills HS, Vernon Hills, Ill.). Rymer, who played in all 25 games and drew 24 starts, had a team high 39 steals. She was also the Vikings third leading scorer with an 8.6 average (215 points in 25 games). Marcum won the Best Rebounder award after she led the team with 186 in 25 games for an average of 7.4 per game.

Senior Stacey Slain (Sterling Newman HS, Dixon, Ill.) won a pair of awards – Player’s Choice and Fighting Viking. Slain played in 10 games and had two starts. She scored a total of 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Freshman point guard Jessoni Plese (Wilmington HS, Wilmington, Ill.) was the Newcomer of the Year. She played in all 25 games and started six, averaging 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. She had 21 assists and 28 steals. Junior Meghan O’Connell (Leyden HS, Franklin Park, Ill.) and sophomore Katie Engwall (Aledo HS, Aledo, Ill.) shared the Player Recognition Award.

Junior Kelly Sikora (Elgin HS, Elgin, Ill.) led the team in scoring with a 12.7 average with 318 points in 25 games. She also pulled down an average of 4.1 rebounds per game. She was the winner of the Jack Swartz Award, which is given to one male and one female athlete in each season. It is a combination of athletic excellence and academic success and Sikora not only led the team in scoring but she also maintained a grade point average of 3.74. She was joined on the academic all-conference team by Erin Daniels (Dwight HS, Dwight, Ill.), Marcum, O’Connell, Rymer and Slain.

2006 CCIW WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

2005-06 AUGUSTANA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SUPERLATIVES

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Nancy Marcum

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Sarah Rachwalski

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Kim Rymer

BEST REBOUNDER: Nancy Marcum

PLAYER’S CHOICE: Stacey Slain

FIGHTING VIKING: Stacey Slain

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Jessoni Plese

PLAYER RECOGNITION: Meghan O’Connell & Katie Engwall

CCIW “PLAYER OF THE WEEK”: Kelly Sikora on January 3, 2006 and Nancy Marcum on December 5, 2005

CCIW “JACK SWARTZ AWARD”: Kelly Sikora

CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Erin Daniels, Nancy Marcum, Meghan O’Connell, Kim Rymer, Kelly Sikora and Stacey Slain