By: Kelly Grgas Wheeler
WBCA Release
ATLANTA - In an award season that has been big for University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball graduate senior Brooke Olson, Thursday's Women's Basketball Coaches Association announcement might just have been the biggest ever – for both Olson and the Bulldog program.
Olson was named 2023 WBCA NCAA Division II Player of the Year and headlines the 2023 WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches' All-America team. The WBCA presents the Player of the Year award annually to the top player in five of the six WBCA membership divisions (NCAA Divisions II, and III, NAIA, two-year college and high school). The Player of the Year and the 10-member Coaches' All-American team in each division are selected by a committee of WBCA member coaches in that division.
Augustana's Aislinn Duffy was named honorable mention to the 2023 WBCA NCAA Division II All-America Team.
Olson becomes the first-ever WBCA Player of the Year in NSIC Women's Basketball after leading the Bulldogs with a career-high 23 points per game average and 7.4 rebounds a game average over the course of the season. The Rice Lake, Wisc. native has also been on a tear in the 2023 NCAA Tournament – Olson is averaging a staggering 32 ppg a game and 11.7 rebounds a game for a double-double through her first three games, and owns a 65% field goal average and a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe.
A now four-time WBCA First Team All-American, this week alone, Olson has been named a WER First Team All-American and a CSC DII Academic All-American Player. Named the D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year, Olson was also named the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Central Region Monday after helping lead the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Elite Eight in program history.
"The WBCA is pleased to name Brooke Olson as the 2023 WBCA NCAA Division II Player of the Year,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “She is most deserving of this distinguished honor. The WBCA applauds Brooke for her hard work, dedication and contributions to the game during the 2022-23 season.”
Olson and the Bulldogs will look to keep the postseason push rolling next Monday when the Bulldogs will face Assumption University in St. Joseph, Missouri in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2:30 p.m.
Duffy's season was one for the record books as she led the NSIC with 12 double-doubles while ranking third with 17.2 points per game, second with 8.6 rebounds per game and third with 3.8 assists per game. All the statistical categories led Augustana. She marked the Vikings' first triple-double in a decade when she recorded 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds on Dec. 19 against Mount Marty.
She set the tone for the season as she poured in 33 points in her first game of the season against Missouri Western and followed with seven-straight games of double-digit points. On Feb. 4 at Upper Iowa, she again exploded for 30-plus points, this time a career-high 35 points which aided in her NSIC-best four Player of the Week honors. She then closed the season with double-doubles in four of the final seven games while lead Augustana to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. Duffy concludes her career ranked No. 15 in Augustana history with 1,363 points scored. Her 769 career rebounds rank her 9th all-time. In addition, her 7.8 rebounds per game average place her fifth on the all-time list while her 13.7 points per game place her seventh while playing 99 career games.
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