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Apr. 01– After tying their single season school wins record, finishing 28-3, the Concordia University women's basketball team was ranked #14 in the final USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll while seniors Amanda Behnke and Katie LaViolette each received all-America honors from the Women's Division II Bulletin.
The Golden Bears ascended to as high as #2 in the nation in 2007-08, starting the year 18-0. They finished the regular season 28-2 and won back-to-back championships in the Northern Sun's regular season and conference tournament. They are the first in league history to repeat with both titles in the sport. They earned their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Minnesota State University, Mankato in the regional quarterfinals. The 28 wins puts them over the 20 win mark for the seventh year in a row.
 Behnke was selected to the 2008 WDIIB All-America Fourth Team after repeating as NSIC Player of the Year, sharing the award with LaViolette. Behnke was the NSIC Scoring Champion and finished seventh on the career scoring list (all-time) and second on the career rebounding list (Div. II-era). She was a first team all-region selection by both the WBCA and Daktronics and was a State Farm/WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection.
 LaViolette, who earned NSIC Player of the Year status along with Behnke, won three NSIC Player of the Week awards and was the NSIC Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row, the first player in league history to repeat with the honor. She is a two-time NSIC assist champion and nearly broke her own league assist record set a year ago. She led the nation in assist-turnover ratio this year. She finishes her career tied for ninth in NCAA Division II history in career assists with 775 and is the seventh known player in D-II history to acheive 1,000 career points (1,082), 700 career assists (775) and 400 career rebounds (453). LaViolette was also a WBCA and Daktronics first team all-region player and was a State Farm/WBCA All-America honorable mention selection.
USA TODAY/ESPN DIVISION II TOP 25 COACHES' POLL
CONGRATULATIONS TO NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY FOR TAKING HOME THE DII CROWN!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Final Poll: April 1, 2008
USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 women's basketball poll, with first-place votes noted to the side, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th.
|
Rank |
Institution - First Place Votes |
Prev. Rank |
W-L |
Pts |
|
1. |
Northern Kentucky University - 23 |
NR |
28-8 |
617 |
|
2. |
University Of South Dakota - 2 |
3 |
33-2 |
577 |
|
3. |
Delta State University (Miss.) |
1 |
33-1 |
574 |
|
4. |
University Of Alaska Anchorage |
9 |
27-5 |
542 |
|
5. |
Washburn University (Kan.) |
24 |
26-7 |
469 |
|
6. |
Franklin Pierce University (N.H.) |
18 |
27-5 |
457 |
|
7. |
Seattle Pacific University (Wash.) |
2 |
29-1 |
448 |
|
8. |
California Univ. Of Pennsylvania |
23 |
27-7 |
415 |
|
9. |
Holy Family University (Pa.) |
4 |
32-1 |
409 |
|
10. |
Wingate University (N.C.) |
NR |
26-8 |
376 |
|
11. |
Drury University (Mo.) |
7 |
27-3 |
327 |
|
12. |
University of North Dakota |
6 |
27-4 |
293 |
|
13. |
Stonehill College (Mass.) |
8 |
27-5 |
253 |
|
14. |
Concordia University, St. Paul |
5 |
28-3 |
252 |
|
15. |
Valdosta State University (Ga.) |
17 |
26-6 |
249 |
|
16. |
Arkansas Tech University |
13 |
26-6 |
203 |
|
17. |
California State University, Chico |
14 |
28-6 |
196 |
|
18. |
West Texas A&M University |
10 |
26-5 |
154 |
|
19. |
Anderson University (S.C.) |
15 |
28-4 |
153 |
|
20. |
University of West Georgia |
16 |
25-5 |
149 |
|
21. |
Fort Lewis College (Colo.) |
11 |
26-4 |
147 |
|
22. |
Emporia State University (Kan.) |
25 |
23-8 |
142 |
|
23. |
Indiana Univ. Of Pennsylvania |
12 |
27-5 |
131 |
|
24. |
Clayton State University (Ga.) |
NR |
20-11 |
118 |
|
25. |
Shepherd University (W. Va.) |
NR |
24-7 |
97 |
Dropped Out: Hillsdale College (Mich.); Michigan Technological University; Saint Mary's University (Texas); Tusculum College (Tenn.)
Others Receiving Votes: Missouri S & T 90; Minnesota State University, Mankato 81; University Of Nebraska - Kearney 50; Saint Mary's University (Texas) 32; Tusculum College (Tenn.) 27; Michigan Technological University 24; Wayne State College (Neb.) 20; Lander University (S.C.) 18; University Of Central Oklahoma 9; University Of Indianapolis (Ind.) 7; Hillsdale College (Mich.) 6; Armstrong Atlantic State University (Ga.) 4; Augustana College (S.D.) 4; University Of South Carolina Aiken 3; Augusta State University (Ga.) 1; Northwest Missouri State University 1
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