The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) inducted former Red Raiders women’s basketball standout Deb Remmerde-Leusink into its Hall of Fame, the highest honor presented by the association, this evening as part of the 2019 Division II Championship banquet.
A native of Rock Valley, Iowa, Remmerde-Leusink ended her playing career at Northwestern College with a 108-26 record, including a 2006 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship semifinals appearance, a 2007 quarterfinalist finish and ultimately a 2008 National Championship title for her team.
Remmerde-Leusink is the Red Raiders’ all-time leading scorer (3,854 points), which ranks first all-time in NAIA Division II women’s basketball history. She also holds several other career records at Northwestern, including three-point field goals made (481), three-point percentage (.542) and free throw percentage (.958). A sharp-shooter from anywhere on the court, Remmerde-Leusink also holds the record for the most points in a single NAIA DII Women’s Basketball National Championship, tallying 177 points in the 2008 event, nabbing Tournament MVP honors in the process. She was a four-time NAIA First Team All-American, while also earning NAIA National Player of the Year accolades in both 2006 and 2008.
Following her standout career at Northwestern College, Remmerde-Leusink received a tryout with the Houston Comets of the WNBA, and eventually went on to play professionally for a brief stint in Germany before suffering a career-ending injury. She began her coaching career in 2009 with a graduate assistant position at South Dakota State University, before returning to her alma mater in 2011 as an assistant coach under current Red Raiders’ leader, Chris Yaw. Remmerde-Leusink is a member of the Northwestern College Athletic Hall of Fame and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Hall of Fame. She currently resides in her hometown of Rock Valley, Iowa, with her husband Barry, and is a full-time stay at home mom to their three young children.
This is the third consecutive year that Northwestern has put a former athlete into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame as Brandon Woudstra (2018) and Rachel Binneboese (2017) were inducted in 2018 and 2017, respectively.
