Six members of Pride women's basketball named to All-Heart Teams, Michels earns spot on All Defensive Team

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Coming off of the best regular season in program history, the Clarke University basketball team earned six selections to the All Heart of America Athletic Conference Team, Heart officials announced on Wednesday.

Those six selections, the most of any team in the conference were Nicole McDermott, Emma Kelchen, Tina Ubl, Giana Michels, Taylor Haase, and Skylar Culbertson as this marks the second-straight year that the Pride have finished with the most individuals recognized at that number of six after doing so in the 2020-21 season.

Five of the six selections made jumps from their placement on last season's lists as Kelchen moved from an Honorable Mention in 2020-21 to First Team, McDermott jumped from Second Team a season ago to First Team this year, Michels was an Honorable Mention selection in 2020-21 and makes the Second Team this year, as both Haase and Culbertson receive All-Conference honors for the first time in their careers as Honorable Mention selections. Not to be left out, Ubl continues her four-year model of consistency as 2021-22 marks the fourth-straight season she earns a spot on the Second Team.

"Having six players selected for All-Conference says a lot about the way we operate as a team," head coach Courtney Boyd said. "This group does not care who gets the credit, they just want to win. Each of these players have stepped into a different role than they were in last year and by them embracing that, we have been able to compete at a high level. Their hard work has paid off and their unselfishness has not gone unnoticed."

McDermott, the leading vote-getter for CU, was the second leading scorer for the Pride for the second year in a row as she finished the regular season averaging 11.8 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from three point range, and 79.8 percent from the free throw line. She was the third of three Pride individuals to earn Heart Player of the Week when she grabbed the honor on Dec. 20 following efficient scoring performances against Mount Mercy and Saint Xavier.

Scoring doesn't tell the whole story for the sophomore guard from Cascade, Iowa as she also had the second-highest rebounding average on the team at 6.9 rebound per game while also averaging 2.6 assists per game, another second-best mark on the team, and tied for the team lead with 1.6 steals per game.

Kelchen, the leading scorer and rebounder for the Pride, filled the shoes of CU's all-time leading scorer Makenna Haase admirably as she finished the regular season with a 12.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game.

Shooting over 51 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line, Kelchen scored in double figures in 22 of the 30 games played in the regular season. She started off the season strong with back-to-back 20-point performances that led to her lone Heart Player of the Week selection of the season.

Ubl nabs her fourth-straight All-Heart Second Team honor after averaging 10.3 points per game on 40 percent shooting from the field. Another do-it-all type player for Clarke, Ubl averaged over five rebounds per game, two assists per game, owns the top assist to turnover ratio for CU at 1.9 and averaged 1.6 steals per game on the defensive end.

Michels was the leader in minutes played for the Pride at 29.8 minutes per game with the junior from Bellevue, Iowa providing value on both ends of the floor. Along with her offensive numbers, Michels was also named as one of the five players in the conference on the All-Defensive Team as she provided strong on-ball defense and added 1.2 steals per game.

"Giana commits herself to the defensive end of the floor each and every game," Boyd said. "Whether she is guarding the opponent's leading scorer, communicating the defensive scheme each possession, or taking multiple charges a game, she continues to understand the importance of getting stops and what it does for our overall game plan. The combination of her basketball IQ and her competitiveness makes her one of the best defenders in the league."

Offensively, Michels averaged 11.0 points per game in her 30 starts while shooting 39.1 percent from the field, 37 percent from three, and 84.7 percent from the free throw line. Michels fell just short of averaging four rebounds per game at 3.9 as she also added 2.1 assists per game.

Haase, working a one-two punch in the post with Kelchen, averaged 10.4 points per game off the bench in just 18.1 minutes per game. The most efficient player from the field for Clarke, Haase shot 59.1 percent with most shots coming from in the paint, averaging nearly seven field goal attempts per game in her sophomore season.

At point guard, Culbertson missed nearly half of the season during the fall semester into winter break with a wrist injury but came back to solidify the back court over the 16 games to lead the team in assists at 4.1 while averaging 3.6 points per game and managing a 1.8 assist to turnover ratio over her 16 games played.

Clarke women's basketball will head into the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Heart of America Tournament with their first game of the tournament coming up this Thursday when they host Evangel University at the Kehl Center for a 6:00 p.m. CT tip.