The Great Plains Athletic Conference announced its all-conference teams for women’s basketball and two local Northwestern College players have earned postseason honors.
Kassidy De Jong (Hospers, Iowa) was named the 2015-16 GPAC Freshman of the Year and earned first team all-conference honors. De Jong led the Red Raiders in scoring, ranking 10th in the NAIA and fourth in the GPAC at 19.1 points per game. The freshman scored in double figures in 25 games this season and 13 games with at least 20+-points. De Jong also led the team in rebounding, ranking sixth in the GPAC at 6.9 boards per contest. She made a team-best 45 three-pointers and had five double-doubles this season.
De Jong is the first NWC player to receive top freshman honors since her sister, Kendra, in 2009-10.
Whitney Vander Maten received honorable mention all-conference accolades. Vander Maten, a senior from Boyden, Iowa, ranked second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.6 points per game. She knocked down 27 three-pointers and shot 32% from beyond the arc while dishing out 50 assists.
Northwestern tied for seventh in the GPAC regular season with a 10-12 record, 15-14 overall.
