2019 All-Region Honorees Recognized for DII Women's Basketball

The 2018-19 Division II Region XI Women's All-Region teams have been announced. Each team is comprised of ten selections. No. 2 NIACC led the First Team with three honorees. Iowa Lakes contributed two players and DMACC, Iowa Central, Kirkwood, Little Priest and Southeastern each had one.

Not only did NIACC have three players earn First Team honors, but the 2019 Trojan honorees were also all freshman. 

Mandy Willems made her presence known on the court, as she quickly became NIACC's leading scorer. The freshman from Ackley, Iowa was recognized as the 2018-19 ICCAC Division II Women's Basketball Player of the Year.

Willems averaged 24.6 points per game and lead the nation in free throw percentage, sinking 92.8 percent of her attempts. The impressive freshman earned a second-place rank in the nation in overall points scored, totaling up 787 for the season to date. 

Willems set an NJCAA single-game for three-point goals in one game with 13. Three times, she scored 45 or more points in a game. 

Jada Buford (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) was another important asset to the Trojans' team. Buford averaged 19.3 points per game, shooting 43.9 percent from the field. She is ranked ninth in the nation in overall points scored, tallying up 619 in 32 games heading into the national tournament.

Lastly for NIACC was guard Autam Mendez (St. Paul, Minn.). Mendez had eight double-doubles during the course of the 18-19 season. She averaged 16 points per game, along with 8.8 rebounds. Mendez grabbed a total of 273 rebounds up through the Region XI Tournament.  

Iowa Lakes had two players make the All-Region First Team, also freshmen. 

Breanna Wendland's (Richfield, Minn.) shooting abilities made her a stand out for the Lakers. She led the team averaging 17.7 points per game. Wendland shot an impressive 48.9 percent from the field, making nearly half of her shots. The Minnesota native averaged 5.3 rebounds per game and shot 71.2% from the free throw line.

Iowa Lake's Shareece Smith was the team's second-leading scorer on the season as she averaged 14.2 points per game. She grabbed 8.2 rebounds a game, totaling up 253. Smith is from Fort Dodge, Iowa.

The remaining five honorees came from five different schools.

 DMACC's leading scorer Aliyah Robinson (Waterloo, Iowa) earned her way to First Team honors this season. The sophomore averaged 12.9 points per game. As the Bear's best scorer, Robinson shot 37.1 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from behind the arch.

Iowa Central's Brittany West (Shakopee, Minn.) also led her team in scoring throughout the season. West earned 14.1 points per game and shot 46.1 percent from two-point range. The sophomore forward also averaged a high free throw percentage, 87.3. 

Anasha Hurst (St. Louis, Mo)  represented Region XI runner-up Kirkwood on the All-Region First Team this season. Playing in all 34 games, Hurst averaged 9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game amongst a well-balanced Eagle core. 

Little Priest's leading scorer Talia Paytiamo (Acoma, N.M) earned herself a First Team honor. Becoming the first Warrior in school history to receive First Team recognition, Paytiamo dropped 15.7 points per game. The sophomore was a leader on the court during her 31 games this season. Paytiamo fought to grab 190 rebounds throughout the season and averaged 6.3 per game.

Finishing up the Frist Team is Miah Shelby from Southeastern. Shelby led the Blackhawks in scoring with 14.5 points a game and totaling up 451 on the season. Shelby also managed to grab 102 rebounds, earning 3.3 per game. Shelby is from Indianapolis, Ind.

The All-Region teams are selected by coaches vote, in which a coach votes on the nominees and cannot vote from their own players.

DIVISION II FIRST-TEAM ALL-REGION 

DIVISION II SECOND-TEAM ALL-REGION

DIVISION II THIRD-TEAM ALL-REGION

Coach of the Year: Todd Ciochetto, NIACC 

Player of the Year: Mandy Willems, NIACC