Backes, Kirsch, McCool & Schmidt Tabbed
Kearney, Neb. – Four members of the Nebraska Kearney women's basketball team have earned 2023 All-MIAA honors with Carrie Eighmey named the Coach of the Year. The team was announced today prior to the start of the MIAA Tournament tomorrow in Kansas City. The league's 14 head coaches vote on the makeup of the team and cannot vote for their own players. Super senior wing Klaire Kirsch (Rapid City, S.D.) was named to the second-team as well as making the All-Defensive squad. This is her fourth All-MAA honor. Next, super senior forward Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.) earns her third all-conference honor (3rd-team) with redshirt juniors Shiloh McCool (2nd-team) and Sarah Schmitt (h.m.) tabbed All-MIAA for the first time. Eighmey has guided the Lopers to a 27-3 record and the 2023 MIAA regular season title (20-2). UNK has won at least 23 games in each of the past four years and will be in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight time. Finally, Eighmey now has the second most wins (164) in school history, surpassing Carol Russell (2003-10) last Saturday, and is up to 232 as an 11th year head coach. One of UNK's defensive stoppers, Kirsch is at 8.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 41% from behind the arc. She's has posted five double doubles to date, is second in the MIAA in defensive rebounds (189), leads the Lopers in rebounds and steals and is up to 1,185 career points and 1,555 career points. McCool (Pleasant Hill, Ia.) has six double doubles so far and is UNK's leading scorer (12.4 ppg) thanks to a team-best 53.0 field goal percentage. She also is first on the team in offensive rebounds (72), free throws made (90) and attempted and has an overall rebounding average of 7.1. McCool recently reached 1k (1,044) in career points as well. Next, Backes is at 10.8 points, 4.3 rebounds 2.3 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. She leads the Lopers in threes made (60) and swats while ranking second in points and assists and third in rebounds. Backes is one only 10 UNK players to reach 1,500 career points (1,536). Finally, Schmitt's first year as a full-time starter as her at 10.2 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game. She is among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio, shoots 73% at the line and 42% from behind the arc. Brooke Littrell of Central Missouri is the Player of the Year with Pitt State's Harper Schreiner the top freshman and Missouri Western's Connie Clarke the top Defender.
The Lopers are the top seed in the MIAA Tournament and will play Thursday at 6 p.m. against either Newman or Northwest Missouri.
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