UMD women’s basketball forward earns top athletic/academic award

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - A UMD women’s basketball player earned the top athletic and academic award of the year.

Brooke Olson, a graduate forward, earned the College Sports Communicator Division II Academic All-America Team Member of the Year award.

After being named to the Academic All-District Team earlier this season Olson advanced to the national ballot.

This makes her the second UMD women’s basketball player to receive this award, joining Lindsey Dietz, who won it two years in a row between 2004 and 2006.

Olson now joins the exclusive club of professional sports champions, MVPs, and Olympic medals including Peyton Manning, Katie Ledecky, Patrick Mahomes, and Candace Parker.

While she’s not on the court, the Rice Lake, WI native is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in biology and holding a 3.65 GPA.

This award comes in the midst of a high-performing season for the forward.

Olson is averaging a team-high 23 points per game over the course of the season, which is the third-highest mark in the nation.

She is now a four-time NSIC North Player of the Year, making her the first NSIC athlete to ever accomplish that feat.

In addition, Olson is a three-time NSIC Tournament MVP, the first women’s athlete in the conference’s history to earn that accolade.

Other things to add to her resume include the all-time leading scorer in NSIC history in terms of points scored in regular season contests (1615), second among all active DII players (and in UMD history) in points scored with 2455, the D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year, and is a figurehead on the UMD team that three-peated as both NSIC regular season and NSIC Tournament Champions.

The Bulldogs head to St. Joseph, Missouri to start their first-ever Elite Eight bid.

(2) UMD will take on (7) Assumption in the St. Joseph Civic Arena on Monday, March 20 at 2:30 p.m.

Copyright 2023 Northern News Now. All rights reserved.