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--From NACC-- 

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) women's basketball awards have been announced for the 2018-19 season. All awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.

Wisconsin Lutheran College's Jen Dowden repeated as NACC Player of the Year. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Dowden has started each of WLC's 27 games and leads the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game. She also averaged 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Dowden became WLC's career scoring leader late in the NACC Tournament final against Concordia Wisconsin and currently stands third on the NACC's career scoring list with 1,744 points.

Dowden's WLC teammate Maddie Cruz earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Always assigned to guard the other team's best players, Cruz ranked among the league leaders in charges taken. She has started all 27 games headed into the NCAA Tournament, averaging 3.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals.

Edgewood College's Lexi Walter was selected as the Freshman of the Year. Walter played in all 25 games for the Eagles, starting 21, while finishing third on the team in scoring at 8.9 points per game in her rookie season. She led Edgewood in field goal percentage (52.2 percent; 97-of-186), rebounds (6.3 rpg) and blocks (1.7 bpg) - finishing in the top 10 in league play in all three categories.

Wisconsin Lutheran's Klay Knueppel was voted Coach of the Year by his peers for the fourth time after directing the Warriors (26-1, 19-1 NACC) to NACC regular-season and tournament titles and a berth in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. Knueppel picked up his 300th career victory with a win over Dominican in the NACC Tournament semifinals.

Wisconsin Lutheran and Aurora University each had three all-conference selections with the Warriors securing a pair of first-team honors. Benedictine University, Concordia University Wisconsin and Lakeland University had two all-league picks apiece, while Dominican University, Edgewood College and Milwaukee School of Engineering each had one all-NACC selection. 

The complete awards listing appears below.

2019 NACC Women's Basketball Awards
Player of the Year: Jen Dowden, Wisconsin Lutheran
Defensive Player of the Year: Maddie Cruz, Wisconsin Lutheran
Freshman of the Year: Lexi Walter, Edgewood
Coach of the Year: Klay Knueppel, Wisconsin Lutheran