OWU’s Schipfer earns NCAC honors

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CLEVELAND – Ohio Wesleyan junior guard Kasey Schipfer of Mechanicsburg has been named both the Player of the Year and the Top Defensive Player to highlight the 2023 All-North Coast Athletic Conference women’s basketball team, following voting by conference head coaches.

Schipfer is the first player, women’s or men’s, in the NCAC to be named both the Player of the Year and Top Defensive Player since the defensive award was selected starting in the 2017 season.

She earned the Battling Bishops their seventh Player of the Year selection and the program’s first Top Defensive Player award after leading OWU to a 10-4 mark in conference play and the team’s sixth NCAC tournament title.

After earning a second-team nod in 2022, the guard collected her first All-NCAC top-team certificate this season.

Schipfer was a dominant presence for OWU against conference opponents, leading the NCAC in scoring (17.7 ppg) and steals (2.8 spg), while also ranking No. 4 in both rebounds (7.8 rpg) and field-goal percentage (.518).

Offensively, the junior posted double-digit scoring in all 14 league games and shot 53.3 percent or better from the floor in seven of the 14 matchups, including two contests with a 60.0 or better field-goal percentage. She also dished 42 assists in conference play, averaging 3.0 helpers a game, while tallying four or more in six NCAC games.

Defensively, the guard recorded 39 overall steals against league opponents, including at least one steal per game in 13 of the 14 conference matchups and at least three steals in eight games. Schipfer also totaled 109 rebounds in NCAC play, 59 of which came from the defensive end, as she pulled in five or more defensive boards in seven conference games. She posted three double-doubles in league play, which included a 24-point, 11-rebound effort at Kenyon on Jan. 4, a regular-season high 25-points to go along with 10 rebounds against Wittenberg on Jan. 11, and 21 points and a conference regular season-high 12 rebounds versus Denison on Feb. 11.

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