(DWUAthletics.com) – Following their second-consecutive trip to the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship Semifinals, the Dakota Wesleyan University women’s basketball team landed three players on the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball All-American Teams. Kynedi Cheeseman (Alexandria, S.D.) was tabbed to the First Team, Sarah Carr (Huron, S.D.) was named Second Team and Rylie Osthus (De Smet, S.D.) was named to the Honorable Mention Team, the NAIA announced.
This is the first such honor for each player in their careers. Cheeseman was honored to the First Team following her best season in a Tiger uniform. She led the team with 19.0 points per contest, while ranking third nationally in total scoring with 702 points on the season and fourth in free-throw percentage, shooting 88.3 percent.
The junior guard completed her junior season with 1,467 career points, good for ninth in program history. She also set a career high in her final game of the season against Southeastern University (Fla.) with 32 points on 11-fo-25 shooting from the field, along with a career-high 14 rebounds. Cheeseman was also named to the 2019 All-Tournament First Team for the second time in her career.
Osthus concluded her career with an Honorable Mention nod for the first time in her historic campaign. She led the team with 5.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while ranking second in the conference in assists per game. She also ranked third on the team with 12.2 points per game, while averaging 16.8 points per contest during the national tournament.
The De Smet, S.D., native finished with 1,466 career points, good for 10th in program history, as well as 709 rebounds, 694 assists and 225 career steals. She set a school record earlier this season with 10 steals against Valley City State University on Feb. 13. Osthus was also named to the 2019 All-Tournament Second Team and was honored with the 2019 Tournament Hustle Award.
Carr was named to the Second Team for the first time in her career following a breakout junior season. She led the team with 6.1 rebounds per game, while checking in second on the team with 17.1 points per game. The Huron, S.D., native ranked second nationally in free-throw percentage, shooting 89.6 percent from the charity stripe, while coming in eighth in total scoring with 633 points on the year.
She currently sits at 20th in program history with 1,231 career points. Carr collected career highs this season in a four-overtime thriller against University of Jamestown with 38 points and 17 rebounds.
The DWU women’s basketball team finished the season with an overall record of 31-6.
After the DWU men’s basketball team returned to its’ fifth-straight NAIA Men’s National Basketball Tournament, two players were named to the NAIA D-II Men’s Basketball All-American Team. Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids) was named All-American First Team, while Nick Harden (Chicago,IL) was tabbed with All-American Honorable Mention honors.
After receiving All-American Third Team honors last season and Honorable Mention his freshman year, Hoglund was named to the All-American First Team for the first time in his career. The junior guard led the team in scoring, averaging 26.3 points per game, while tallying 91 3-pointers for 40.6 percent and shot 53.4 percent from the field.
Hoglund recorded 40 points or more in five games this season including a career-high 45 points against University Antelope Valley (Calif.) on Dec. 20. He led the GPAC in points per game, while finishing third in field-goal percentage and fourth in steals per game at 1.5 steals per contest and 50 total steals.
Hoglund also finished fifth in the NAIA in points per game and total scoring with 840 points this season. He surpassed 2,000 career points in the first round of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championships against Warner University (Fla.) and currently sits sixth in the all-time scoring list in men’s basketball with 2,013 points.
In his first season in a Tiger uniform, Harden made an immediate impact on both ends of the floor for DWU. Harden was honored with All-American accolades for the first time in his career. The sophomore guard led the team in assists with 3.8 assists per contest and 122 total assists while also averaging 2.5 steals per game and 80 total steals.
Harden finished the season averaging 17.5 points per game and shot 47.1 percent from the field. Harden tallied arguably his best game against Peru State College (Neb.) on Dec. 29 at the Corn Palace. Harden notched a career-high 35 points, shooting 4-of-7 from the 3-point line and 12-of-25 from the field.
Harden finished second in the GPAC with steals per game and fourth in assists per game. Harden completed the season fourth in the NAIA with 80 total steals and seventh in steals per contest. The Tigers finished the season with an overall record of 23-10.