Jada Campbell earns defensive player of the year honors as five Tigers receive all-GPAC recognition

The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·4 min read

Mar. 1—SIOUX CITY, Iowa. — For the second-straight season, a Dakota Wesleyan women's basketball player was named defensive player of the year within the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

Jada Campbell, a 6-foot-4 senior center, was named co-defensive player of the year, sharing the honor with Briar Cliff guard Kennedy Benne, who also shared the honor in 2020-21, the GPAC announced in a Wednesday release.

Campbell, an Alexandria native, leads DWU in scoring at 14.4 points along with six rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. It's the third-straight season Campbell has landed on the all-conference honors, with a second-team nod last season and honorable mention status in 2020-21.

DWU was represented on the all-GPAC first team by senior forward Matti Reiner, a Tripp native, who was more than 1,200 career points as a Tiger. For the season, Reiner has averaged 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. It was Reiner's second-straight year as a first-team performer and third all-conference season overall, having been a second-team selection in 2020-21.

Campbell was one of two Tigers on the all-conference second team, joined by junior guard Isabel Ihnen. This season, Ihnen has started all 30 games, averaging 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Freshman guard Rylee Rosenquist and sophomore guard Morgan Edelman were honorable mention selections for DWU. Rosenquist made 13 starts, averaging 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Edelman started 27 contests, putting up 8.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steal per outing.

Dordt's Karly Gustafson, of Ethan, was named first-team all-conference for the second year in a row, as the senior put up 16.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Jamestown's Hannah DeMars, a senior forward, was named the conference's player of the year. DeMars averaged 17.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the Jimmies, who went 21-8 overall and 16-6 in conference play.

Macy Sievers, of Dordt, earned the conference freshman of the year award. Dordt coach Bill Harmsen and Jamestown's Thad Sankey shared co-coach of the year honors.

2022-23 GPAC women's basketball all-conference teams

* GPAC Player of the Year: Hannah DeMars, Jamestown

* GPAC Defensive Player of the Year: Jada Campbell, Dakota Wesleyan; Kennedy Benne, Briar Cliff

* GPAC Freshman of the Year: Macy Sievers, Dordt

* GPAC Coach of the Year: Bill Harmsen, Dordt; Thad Sankey, Jamestown

First Team (10 members, Listed alphabetically by last name)

Bailey Beckman, Dordt 5-3, sr., guard, Panorama, Iowa

Hannah DeMars, Jamestown 5-11, sr., forward, Grand Rapids, Minn.

Karly Gustafson, Dordt 6-0, sr., forward, Ethan, S.D.

Mak Hatcliff, Doane 5-7, so., guard, Beatrice, Neb.

Maddie Jones, Northwestern 5-5, sr., guard, Twin Lakes, Iowa

Sophia Peppers, Morningside 5-10, sr., forward, Exira, Iowa

Matti Reiner, Dakota Wesleyan 5-10, sr., forward, Tripp, S.D.

Taysha Rushton, Concordia 5-5, so., guard, Midland, Texas

Konnor Sudmann, Briar Cliff 5-11, sr., guard, Treynor, Iowa

Kia Tower, Jamestown 5-6, sr., guard, Bigfork, Minn.

Second team

Kennedy Benne, Briar Cliff, 5-8, jr., guard, Oakland, Neb.

Jada Campbell, Dakota Wesleyan, 6-4, sr., center, Alexandria, S.D.

Emilee Danner, Northwestern, 5-10, sr., guard Westside, Iowa

Madelyn Deitchler, Briar Cliff, 5-11, sr., center Treynor, Iowa

Macy Holtz, Doane, 5-7, so., guard, Plainview, Minn.

Isabel Ihnen, Dakota Wesleyan, 5-7,, jr., guard, Lennox, S.D.

Abby Krieser, Concordia, 5-8, So., guard, Lincoln, Neb.

Sadie Powell, Concordia, 6-0, So., forward, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Molly Schany, Northwestern, 6-1, Jr., forward, Emmetsburg, Iowa

Janie Schoonhoven, Dordt, 5-10, so., forward, Hospers, Iowa

Honorable Mention

Briar Cliff: Payton Slaughter, Peyton Wingert

College of Saint Mary: Madelyn Turner

Concordia: Kendal Brigham. Mackenzie Toomey

Dakota Wesleyan: Rylee Rosenquist, Morgan Edelman

Doane: Megan Chambers

Dordt: Macy Sievers

Hastings: Allie Bauer, Mariyah Avila

Midland: Erin Prusa

Morningside: McKenna Sims, Alexis Spier, Chloe Lofstrom

Mount Marty: Eve Millar. Kaela Martinez

Northwestern: Taylor VanderVelde

Jamestown: Audrey Rodakowski, Kate Busek