Wartburg Knights women's basketball explained

Wartburg Knights
Conference:ARC
Location:Waverly, Iowa
Coach:Bob Amsberry
Tenure:18th
Arena:Levick Arena
Capacity:2,000
Nickname:Knights
Ncaafinalfour:2016, 2018, 2024
Ncaaeliteeight:1992, 1993, 2001, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2024
Ncaasweetsixteen:1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024
Ncaatourneys:1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference Tournament:2001, 2002, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024
Conference Season:1990, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024
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The Wartburg Knights women's basketball team represents the Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, United States. The team is a member of the American Rivers Conference as well as the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team plays its regular season games in Levick Arena, along with men's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams.

History

Wartburg women's basketball began in 1974, under head coach Doug Johnson. The first Wartburg team finished 12–3 in 1974–75, its first victory coming against the Northern Iowa Panthers. Johnson coached only one season at Wartburg, which marked first winning season.[1] Since Johnson Wartburg has had a total of 7 head coaches, the majority of the seasons coached by Monica Severson and current head coach Bob Amsberry.

The 2015–16 season Wartburg broke through to their first final four in school history.[2] The unranked Knights got an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002. They would beat 3 ranked teams on their way to a regional championship and finish the season 23–8. Since that year the Knights have made it to 8 straight NCAA tournaments and two other appearances in the NCAA Final Four in 2018 and 2024.[3] [4]

NCAA tournament results

Wartburg has appeared in 17 NCAA Tournaments with a record of 26–17.[5]

First Round Augustana (Ill) L 74−93
First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Augustana (Ill)
Buena Vista
W 72–57
L 63−78
First Round Luther L 54−78
First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
UW-Stout
St. Benedict (MN)
Luther
W 90–72
W 74–64
L 61–70
First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Wash U (MO)
UW-Whitewater
Central (IA)
W 75–60
W 83–77
L 60–62
1994First Round Aurora (IL) L 57–61
First Round St Thomas L 41–67
13 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Chapman
Nebraska Wesleyan
Fontbonne
Wash U (MO)
W 86–78
W 85–71
W 82–78
L 71–83
2002First Round Carleton L 61–71
First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Wisconsin Lutheran
#11 UW-Oshkosh
#8 St. Thomas
#5 Texas Tyler
#7 Tufts
W 65–49
W 66–56
W 70–66
W 80–74
L 50–63
20179 First Round Chicago L 63–67
2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Webster
#12 George Fox
#7 Trine
East Texas Baptist
#5 Bowdoin
W 86–45
W 82–58
W 78–54
W 65–61
L 62–90
11 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Bethany Lutheran
#9 Hope
#13 UW-Oshkosh
#2 St. Thomas (MN)
W 91–63
W 76–49
W 70–57
L 56–85
5 First Round
Second Round
Monmouth
#11 Whitman
W 91–55
L 63–67
2022First Round Millikin L 68–81
202324 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
  1. 13 Baldwin Wallace
    #6 Hope
    #1 Christopher Newport
W 57–43
W 81–67
L 51–60
20246 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Wisconsin Lutheran
  1. 16 Illinois Wesleyan
    Bates
    #9 Washington and Lee
    #14 Smith
W 72–65
W 62–59
W 54–53
W 68–58
L 54-61 OT

Current coaching staff

[6]

Head coaching history

As of the completion of 2024 season[7]

TenureCoachYearsRecordPct.
1974-1975 Doug Johnson 1 12–3–0
1975–1976 Marge Schaffer 1 11–11–0
1976–1978 Cheryl Wren 2 29-14-0
1978-1981 Nancy Schley 3 32–41–0
1981-1988 Kathy Meyer Thomas 7 64–86–0
1988-2006 Monica Severson 18 335–131–0
2006 Kathy Franken 1† 1–7–0
2006–present 18 361–132–0
Totals7 coaches50 seasons854-424–0
† Kathy Franken served as the interim head coach for the end of the 2005–2006 season following the departure of Monica Severson.

Individual awards

Conference Awards

Conference Awards[8]
YearPlayerType
1989-90 Kathy Smith Most Valuable Player
1991-92 Kathy Roberts Most Valuable Player
2000-01 Holly Mohs Most Valuable Player
2000-02 Holly Mohs Most Valuable Player
2010-11 Samantha Harrington Most Valuable Player
2011-12 Leslie Wilson Defensive Player of the Year
2016-17 Katie Sommer Most Valuable Player
2017-18 Katie Sommer Most Valuable Player
2018-19 Emma Gerdes Most Valuable Player
2019-20 Emma Gerdes Most Valuable Player
2022-23 Sara Faber Most Valuable Player
2023-24 Jaedon Murphy Most Valuable Player

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wartburg Women's Basketball Recordbook - Women's Basketball . go-knights.net . 2023-03-13.
  2. Web site: NCAA women's basketball: Wartburg headed to Final Four, 80-74. Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. 12 March 2016 .
  3. Web site: NCAA women's basketball: Bowdoin ends Wartburg's storybook season (PICTURES). Nick. Petaros. Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. 16 March 2018 .
  4. News: Nelson . Jim . College Women's Basketball: Wartburg College loses in OT in D3 National Semifinal . 15 March 2024 . Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier . March 14, 2024.
  5. Web site: Women's Basketball. Wartburg College Athletics.
  6. Web site: Women's Basketball Coaches .
  7. News: Wartburg Knights Women's Basketball Record Book. Wartburg Knights . June 2, 2023.
  8. Web site: Conference Awards - American Rivers Conference.