Photo: Terry Griffin/Drury Athletics

Drury head coach Molly Miller picked up multiple national awards as she was named the NCAA-II Coach of the Year by the recruiting website World Exposure Report. Earlier, she was also honored as the NCAA-II Coach of the Year for the second straight season by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Miller led the Lady Panthers to an undefeated season at 32-0, the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title with a 20-0 league record, the team’s fourth straight GLVC tournament championship, and a number one national ranking. 2019-20 marked Drury’s second consecutive undefeated regular season. Miller also earned the GLVC Coach of the Year honor for the second year in a row.

2019-20 was Miller’s sixth year as head coach at Drury, and she owns a career record of 180-17 (.913). Her teams have gone 67-1 in the last two seasons, and they have won at least 30 games for four years in a row, compiling a 128-8 mark over that span. Miller’s teams have won 105 out of the 110 games they have played within the GLVC during her six seasons at the helm, and they have never lost a conference game at home having gone 55-0 in league play.

Photo: Terry Griffin/Drury Ahtletics

The Division II Conference Commissioners Association also named Lady Panthers forward Hailey Diestelkamp as the recipient of the Ron Lenz National Player of the Year award as well as being named a First Team All-American. It marks the first time in program history a player from Drury has earned the D2CCA’s Ron Lenz award.

Diestelkamp averaged 21.6 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, shot .522 from the field and registered 2.8 steals per game. The senior from Owensville, Missouri, became the first player in Drury history to surpass 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, and Diestelkamp’s 2,321 career points led all active players in Division II at the end of the year. She is Drury’s all-time leader in scoring and rebounding in addition to being fourth all-time in steals.

Diestelkamp’s point total also ranks her 24th in the history of NCAA-II women’s basketball, and she is the sixth player ever at the D-II level to reach 2,300 points and 1,100 career rebounds.

Diestelkamp set a team and GLVC single-game scoring record with 53 points in the final home game of her career against Rockhurst on Feb. 29. She managed to score in double-figures in 30 of Drury’s 32 games, and she notched 12 double-doubles last season. Diestelkamp was named the NCAA-II Player of the Week twice during 2019-20 in addition to earning MVP honors in the GLVC Tournament for the third year in a row as she helped the Lady Panthers to their fourth consecutive conference title.

Diestelkamp was also named the NCAA-II Player of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association for the second year in a row, and she was named an All-American by the WBCA. She has also been named the 2020 Midwest Region Player of the Year by the D2CCA, was the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year, and the MVP of the GLVC tournament after the Lady Panthers won their fourth straight league title.

Drury finished the season undefeated at 32-0, won the GLVC championship, and they are the number one ranked team in NCAA-II.

Rene Medley, photo/Lincoln Athletics

The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced on Wednesday (March 25) that Lincoln senior Rene Medley is the NCAA Division II Indoor Women’s Track Athlete of the Year. Medley becomes the first Blue Tiger ever to win the award during the indoor season.

Medley was the only female track athlete to lead the nation in multiple individual events. Her time of 23.57 not only led the country in the 200m, but was also the quickest time ever recorded on an oversized track in NCAA Division II history. Medley also led D-II in the 60m with a time of 7.37.

At the 2020 MIAA Championships, Medley won both the 60m and the 200m, and ultimately scored 20 points for the Blue Tigers. She had qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships in both events.

The Lincoln track team was in Birmingham, AL ready for the events when the NCAA made the announcement that all winter championships were being canceled.

Ben McCollum/Photo/NWMS Athletics

The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today that Northwest Missouri State University head coach Ben McCollum is the 2020 NABC Division II Coach of the Year.

McCollum has become a regular as NABC Division II Coach of the Year, winning the honor in three of the last four seasons. The Bearcats finished the season with a 31-1 record and were ranked first in the final NABC Division II poll. McCollum won his sixth MIAA Coach of the Year honor as Northwest closed out its season on 23-game win streak. Northwest surpassed the 30-win mark for the fifth time in program history (third time in four years) and the 20-win mark for the ninth consecutive season.

“I would like to accept this award on behalf of my players who deserve the national accolades,” McCollum said. “I am humbled and thankful to be able to coach the best players in the country. I would also like to thank the NABC for everything they do to support college basketball and for honoring our program with this award.”

McCollum equaled Cal State Bakersfield’s Pat Douglass for the most NABC Division II Coach of the Year awards with three. Douglass captured his awards in 1993, 1994 and 1997. McCollum has been the NABC Coach of the Year in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Kenzie Kostas

Two Missouri college assistant basketball coaches are on the WABC’s list of “30 Under 30.” The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association created the program to recognize 30 up-and-coming women’s basketball coaches age 30 and under at all levels of the game. Each honoree has exemplified their involvement in community service, mentorship and impact on others, professional manner, and attitude and professional association involvement.

Kenzie Kostas from Central Missouri and Olivia Applewhite of SLU made the list.

Kenzie Kostas completed her fourth year as an Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach in 2019-20 after serving a year as the Jennies Graduate Assistant Coach. Kostas works closely with the Jennies guards. In addition to her work with the team on the court, Kostas serves as the team’s operations coordinator, handling team travel arrangements, equipment orders and camp director. She has also taken on a bigger role in the scouting of opposing teams and recruiting. Kostas famously was the lead scout for the Ashland Eagles in the National Championship game, helping to implement an offensive and defensive game plan as the Jennies defeated the previously unbeaten Eagles 66-52 to win the second National Championship in team history.

Olivia Applewhite

Now in her fourth year on the Saint Louis women’s basketball staff, Olivia Applewhite was elevated to assistant coach in May 2019. Applewhite previously served two seasons as director of operations/video coordinator and one season as a graduate assistant. Applewhite is no stranger to the Atlantic 10 Conference, having played four years at Dayton (2009-13). The Flyers posted records of 97-30 overall and 46-10 in the A-10 and made four NCAA Championship appearances during her career. Applewhite earned a master’s degree in student personnel administration at SLU in 2018. She is a 2013 graduate of Dayton with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a minor in marketing.

Photo: Drury Athletics

The Drury bass fishing team moved up three spots and is ranked sixth in the nation in the latest Bass Pro Shops School of the Year points race. Their number six national ranking matches their highest placement in the points race in program history. McKendree, with 12,465 points compiled so far this season, leads the points race while the University of Montevallo (Ala.) ranks second with 11,445. Adrian (Mich.) is ranked third (10,685), Auburn is fourth (10,565), and Murray State is ranked fifth (10,540).

The Panthers have 8,720 points through 10 tournaments so far this season. The national standings are based on points schools accumulate at sanctioned events throughout the year.

The Drury bass fishing season is currently on hold along with Drury’s NCAA spring sports in response to the national Coronavirus epidemic. Their next scheduled competition for the Panthers is May 6-8 at the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series tournament at Lake Cumberland in Russell County, Kentucky. The final points tally, and the national champion is announced in early June.

Photo: Tennessee Athletics

According to Adam King of KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau, former Mizzou Tiger basketball star Kim English is the front-runner for the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball head coaching job.

Although the search is far from over, Kim English is one of the leading candidates to be the next SEMO head basketball coach. (Multiple sources tell @kfvssports)

English is a former Mizzou player and currently an assistant at Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/ESAWnLJK2b

— Adam King (@AdamKingKFVS) March 16, 2020

English joined the Tennessee staff as an assistant coach in April 2019, working for Rick Barnes.

Prior to his hiring at Tennessee, English spent two seasons as an assistant coach on Tad Boyle’s staff at Colorado. During that time, the Buffaloes posted back-to-back winning seasons, going 40-28. Colorado reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 NIT and finished with the third-most wins in program history (23).

From 2015-17, English worked for two years under Frank Haith at Tulsa.

As a player at Missouri from 2008-12, English scored more than 1,500 points and averaged 11.0 points per game for the Tigers and Missouri won 107 games during his four-year career, making him and two teammates the winningest players in program history.

He averaged a career-best 14.5 points as a senior in 2011-12 and ranked fifth in the Big 12 with 78 3-point makes, while leading Missouri to 30 wins, one of two Big 12 Tournament titles during his career and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 Big 12 Tournament after averaging 23.0 points and shooting 78 percent during the Tigers’ championship run.

The Pistons selected English with the 44th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and he appeared in 41 games during the 2012-13 season. He then spent two years playing overseas and had a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls in 2014.

Photo/GLVC

GLVC men

No. 3 seed Truman State University captured the 2020 Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Championship crown on Sunday with a 53-52 victory over No. 1 seed University of Missouri-St. Louis in the First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois.

The Bulldogs won their first-ever league title in just their second appearance in the championship game since becoming GLVC members in 2013 and earned the Conference’s automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Division II national tournament. The 64-team field will be revealed later this evening at 10:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

GLVC Player of the Year Brodric Thomas, who was named to the All-Tournament Team and the Most Outstanding Player, tallied a double-double with a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Truman.

Truman Teammate Cade McKnight was also named to the five-man team, while Yaakema Rose Jr. and Jose Grubbs picked up the honors for UMSL. University of Indianapolis senior Jimmy King picked up the fifth spot on the All-Tournament squad.

It was a fitting battle of the two regular season co-champions, as the game featured nine ties and 12 lead changes with no team leading by more than six points. In the end, Truman shot 47.6 percent (20-of-42) to UMSL’s 40 (22-of-55), while the Tritons held the slight edge in rebounding, 31-28.

Photo/GLVC

GLVC women

No. 1 seed and top-ranked Drury University captured the 2020 Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Championship title on Sunday with a 77-55 victory over No. 3 seed Lewis University in First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois.

The Lady Panthers won their seventh overall crown and fourth consecutive, which sets a new league record. With the victory, Drury (32-0) earned the Conference’s automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Division II national tournament, as the 64-team field will be revealed later this evening at 10 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

Drury senior forward, Hailey Diestelkamp, who was named to the All-Tournament Team and won her third-straight Most Outstanding Player honor, flirted with a triple-double and was eyeing a quadruple-double thanks to a game-high 25 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals, and six assists.

Drury sophomore guard Paige Robinson – who scored 22 and had a career-high nine boards in the win – joined Diestelkamp on the All-Tournament Team for her second-straight selection, while Lewis senior Rachel Hinders won her second All-Tournament honor with classmate Morgan Glatczk also voted to the team. Lindenwood senior Kallie Bildner rounded out the five-player squad.

Though she wasn’t voted to the All-Tournament team, it’s worth noting that senior guard Daejah Bernard collected three steals to become just the third player in program history to surpass 400 in her career.

Lewis shot better than Drury in all categories, going 23-of-55 (.418) from the field compared to 27-of-76 (.355); 6-of-14 (.429) from long range compared to 6-of-16 (.375); and 3-of-4 (.750) from the foul line compared to 17-of-24 (.708). The Panthers, however, scored 31 points off 34 Lewis turnovers, while both teams had 28 points in the paint.

Drury’s 32-straight wins set a program record in consecutive wins, and the team completed an undefeated Conference regular season while winning a postseason crown for the second year in a row.

Photo/Ian Echlin

MIAA men

Northwest Missouri won the 2020 MIAA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust with a 78-76 victory over Missouri Southern. The Bearcats won their fifth straight title, the longest streak since the Association started a postseason tournament in 1981.

NW built a 45-33 halftime lead behind zero turnovers in the opening 20 minutes of action. But the Lions chipped away at the lead in the second half as they tied the game with 3:07 on a free-throw by Cam Martin. But Northwest answered back the next possession when Trevor Hudgins connected an and-one opportunity to put the lead to 70-67 and they would never relinquish the lead.

Hudgins and Martin both netted a game-high 31 points to lead their respective teams. Martin also pulled in 11 rebounds as he and NW’s Diego Bernard both finished with double-doubles. Bernard ended with 20 points and 10 rebounds. MSSU was also led by Elyjah Clark with 14 points as the Bearcats received 18 points from Wes Dreamer.

Photo/Ian Echlin

MIAA women

Central Missouri won the 2020 MIAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament presented by Citizens Bank & Trust. The Jennies defeated second-seeded Emporia State 82-75 to win their first tournament title since 1990.

UCM started fast as it scored 24 points in the opening quarter which propelled them to a 45-40 halftime advantage. But the Lady Hornets turned up the defense in the third quarter, as they limited the Jennies to just 10 points and a 25 percent shooting percentage. But UCM flipped the script as it outscored ESU 27-13 in the fourth quarter.

Nija Collier led Central Missouri with a double-double as she recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds. Morgan Fleming and Megan Skaggs each added 19 points. Emporia State was led by Mollie Mounsey’s 37 points as was 12-of-20 from the field and 7-of-13 from the three-point arc. Her 37 points are the most in an MIAA championship game; she also set an Association record for most points in a tournament with 87.

Stories courtesy GLVC and MIAA