Storm Top 10 Countdown: No. 3

The 2011-12 season brought us many great moments. From thrilling overtime wins, to conference championships, to milestone achievements, this past year was a true testament to the success experienced by student-athletes at Simpson.

Your votes for the top moments of the 2011-12 season have been tallied. Now, we will reveal the results as we re-live our favorite moments of the year.

No. 3: Women’s basketball wins fifth straight IIAC Title

Below article taken from the 2012 Spring edition of the Simpson Magazine

Like clockwork, the Simpson women’s basketball team made another postseason appearance in 2012.

For the eighth year in a row the Storm closed the season with a trip to the NCAA Division III Championship. This time around, Simpson lost a hard-fought battle with No. 18 Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 69-61 in the first round played at the University of Chicago.

The season was one of accomplishments and milestones for Simpson’s most decorated program during the past decade. Finishing the season 21-7, Simpson continued its dominance in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) by winning a fifth-consecutive championship. After a relatively slow start, the Storm rattled off nine wins in a row to end the season before losing to Coe in the IIAC Tournament Championship. The team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Along the way, IIAC Coach of the Year Brian Niemuth etched his name in the league record books. In a win over Wartburg on Jan. 21, the 25th-year head coach earned his 294th win in conference play, becoming the all-time wins leader in league history. He went on to win his 300th conference game, the first women’s basketball coach in the Iowa Conference to reach the plateau.

“I have learned that it is hard to get to the top, but harder to stay at the top,” Niemuth said. “You have to work hard to get players and get them to buy in. It takes a lot of people - assistants, friends, players ... it takes a village to get to that point."

To Niemuth it’s about more than Xs and Os, though. Not only is the women’s basketball team one of the most successful on the court, it excels in the classroom as well, evidenced by team GPAs over 3.45 the last five years. Simpson has landed in the top 10 on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Team Honor Roll in six out of the last seven years.

"He genuinely loves the game and cares about the players,” assistant coach Elizabeth Curry said. “When you have those two things you have fun with what you're doing. It's not just a job - he wants to go out and get wins and do things right, but at the end of the day he cares about the student-athletes."

Even though Simpson’s game plan is predicated upon a team concept – nine players averaged more than 17 minutes per game – a few players stuck out during the season.

Senior post Stacey Schutjer ends her career as one of the most decorated basketball players in school history after being named First Team All-IIAC for the third time in 2011-12. She is one of only four players in school history to make the first team three times, joining Laurie Sankey, Michelle Stover and Katelyn Whiton. Her 1,388 career points rank sixth in school history and her 712 rebounds are third. Junior Kate Nielsen also earned first team honors while junior Cathy Kain was an honorable mention selection.

With the end of another great season comes uncertainty for the upcoming campaign. But come March 2013, rest assured the Storm will be back in the hunt. Like clockwork.

For more on Simpson's NCAA Tournament appearance, click here.

For more on Simpson's IIAC honors, click here.

Storm Top 10 Moments of 2011-12