Niemuth, Taylor headline All-A-R-C Team for second straight season

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – For the second year in a row, Brian Niemuth and graduate student Jenna Taylor took home two of the league's top honors as Niemuth was named American Rivers Conference Coach of the Year for the ninth time in his career and Taylor became the first Simpson College women's basketball player to earn multiple career MVP honors.

Senior forward Cameron Kincaid, junior guard Cassie Nash, and senior guard Kia Rasmussen all joined Taylor on the All-American Rivers Conference First Team, while senior guard Anna Wanek was named to the second team and Regan Freland earned honorable mention recognition.

Simpson's four first-team honorees and six total all-conference performers are both program-highs.

The Storm (25-1, 15-0 A-R-C) went undefeated in conference play for the second year in a row and earned their second-consecutive championship. Simpson outscored A-R-C opponents by an average of 27.9 points during the regular season and went on to win the conference tournament crown with a 106-75 win over fifth-seeded Luther and 62-59 win over second-seeded Wartburg. The championship win earned the Storm a place in the NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time in nine seasons. Simpson is set to host the first two rounds of the national championship beginning on March 4. 

Brian Niemuth, coach of the year
After guiding the Storm to their 14th regular season championship and eighth tournament title, Niemuth was voted Coach of the Year. This is his ninth time earning the honor while at Simpson. His 2021-22 squad led the conference and nation in field goal percentage (49.2), 3-point percentage (38.8), free throw percentage (81.0), total assists (542), assists per game (21.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50). The Storm ranked first in the A-R-C and third in DIII in scoring offense (86.7). The winningest coach in conference history, Niemuth currently has 648 wins.

Jenna Taylor, most valuable player
Originally from Creston, Iowa, Taylor earned her second consecutive league MVP honor after leading the conference in scoring with 16.5 points per game and ranking sixth with 8.0 rebounds per game. She led the league in 3-point percentage (45.0) for the second year in a row and logged six double-doubles. Taylor was named USBWA DIII National Player of the Week on Jan. 2 and earned four A-R-C Player of the Week accolades. She became just the second Simpson women's basketball player to tally 1,600+ points and 700+ rebounds in her career and ranks third all-time in both categories.

Cameron Kincaid, first team all-conference
Originally from Olathe, Kan., Kincaid earned first team all-conference honors after averaging 13.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. She finished the regular season atop the A-R-C leaderboard in free throw percentage for the third time in her career with a 93.1 shooting clip, which also led the nation. Kincaid reached double figure scoring in all but five games and was named conference player of the week on two occasions. She became the 18th member of the 1,000 point club on Dec. 29 and cracked into the top-10 all-time with her 26-point performance in the A-R-C Tournament Championship.

Cassie Nash, first team all-conference
Originally from Lincoln, Neb., Nash earned first team all-conference recognition after averaging 15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 3.2 assists. She led the league with the fifth-best field goal percentage in Division III (59.8) and ranked first in total steals (87) and steals per game. A second team all-conference pick in 2020-21, Nash hit double-digit scoring in all but five games and had 12 games with 4+ steals and nine games with 5+ assists. She was named conference player of the week on Feb. 14.

Kia Rasmussen, first team all-conference
Originally from Irwin, Iowa, Rasmussen earned first team all-conference honors after averaging 7.3 points, 4.6 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. She boasted the highest assist-to-turnover ratio (4.65) of any NCAA division for much of the season and led the conference in assists (121), assists per game (4.6) and 3-point percentage (48.1). Rasmussen tallied 5+ assists in 13 games with a season-high 11 in an 89-76 win over Bethany Lutheran on Dec. 30.

Anna Wanek, second team all-conference
Originally from Urbandale, Iowa, Wanek earned second team all-conference honors after averaging 11.0 points and 4.2 rebounds. She ranked fourth in the conference in 3-point percentage (41.5) and eighth in field goal percentage (51.6). Wanek scored in double figures 15 times and had two games with 20+ points including a career-high 22 in an 81-74 win over Loras, which helped her collect conference player of the week honors on Jan. 31.

Regan Freland, honorable mention all-conference
Originally from Prairie City, Iowa, Freland earned honorable mention all-conference recognition after averaging 10.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals. She ranked 11th in the conference in 3-point percentage (36.1) and hit double figure scoring 13 times with 2.7 3-pointers per game. Freland scored a career-high 23 points against then-No. 5 Wartburg in a 90-74 home victory and hit the game-tying triple in regulation against 12th-ranked Wartburg in a 78-73 road win.