Conahan named OWH All-Nebraska captain; Rich, Morris also honored

After collecting first team All-America and first team All-GPAC accolades, Concordia junior guard Kristen Conahan has added another honor after a terrific 2012-13 season. On Friday the Omaha native received the prestigious distinction of Omaha World-Herald NAIA All-Nebraska honorary team captain.

Joining Conahan on the OWH All-Nebraska team is senior Katie Rich (first team) and sophomore Bailey Morris (second team). Both junior Lori Laboda (6.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and sophomore Tracy Peitz (7.3 ppg, 2.3 spg) received honorable mention.

For Rich, it’s the third-straight year she has been placed on the OWH’s first team. She was an honorable mention choice as a freshman. Conahan is appearing on the first team for the second-consecutive year after also earning honorable mention as a freshman. Morris, a second team All-GPAC choice this season, received honors from the OWH for the first time.

Conahan averaged 15.8 points per game (third in the GPAC) while leading the conference in steals per contest (3.25). She started all 32 games and drilled 92 3-point field goals. She has tallied 1,374 career points in 100 games as a Bulldog.

“She’s lightning quick, she’s a pure scorer and she’s really worked on being able to penetrate more,’’ Concordia head women’s basketball coach Drew Olson told the Omaha World-Herald. “She shoots a ton of 3s and people just took her as a shooter. This year, she did a lot more in the lane and coming off the ball screen.”

Rich will graduate from Concordia as one of the women’s basketball program’s all-time greatest players. On the program’s all-time lists, the Tilden, Neb., native ranks 14th in points (1,293), 10th in rebounds (653), 17th in assists (233) and fourth in steals (265). She earned GPAC Defensive Player of the Year awards as both a junior and senior.

Morris, who hails from Roseland, Neb., emerged as yet another star in a long line of them in Bulldog women’s basketball lore. She ranked second to Conahan on the team with 14.6 points per game. Morris also tied Conahan for the conference lead with 3.25 steals per game. She was one of three Bulldogs to play in all 32 games this past season.

On the men’s side, Porter Birtell (13.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Beau Smith (12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg) received honorable mention. Birtell finished his career with 1,390 points and 712 rebounds in 101 games.

Omaha World-Herald NAIA All-Nebraska teams:

NAIA Women
First Team
G: Kristen Conahan, Concordia, 15.8
G: Katie Rich, Concordia, 10.9
G: Karyn Bixler, CSM, 14.0
F: Courtney Ward, Peru State, 15.2
F: Mallory Shanahan, Wesleyan, 14.3
Second Team
G: Joelle Andersen, Midland, 12.2
G: Cami Bruckman, Hastings, 13.2
G: Bailey Morris, Concordia, 14.6
G: Jessica Zaruba, CSM, 13.4
F: Hannah Dostal, Doane, 11.9
Honorary captain: Kristen Conahan, Concordia.
Honorable mention: Tiffany Anzalone, College of St. Mary; Lori Laboda, Tracy Peitz, Concordia; Shelbi Bittinger, Brittany Luettel, Doane; Chelsey Morten, Brittney Wong, Laurel Zwiener, Hastings; Taylor Shepard, Jami Thramer, Jamilah Johnson, Midland; Janelle Baal, Nebraska Wesleyan; Adaugo Osuala, Peru State; Sara Lincoln, York College; Katie Loewen, Hannah Schnell, Grace.

NAIA Men
First Team
G: James Parrott, Midland, 19.1
G: Brady Lollman, Hastings, 16.0
G: Thadd Varmall, York, 19.9
G: Nick Reed, Doane, 16.6
F: Jamil Goodwin, Bellevue, 13.1
Second Team
G: Derrick Williams, Peru State, 15.6
G: Marcus Johnson, York, 15.0
G: Dane Bacon, Hastings, 13.9
F: Connor Beranek, Doane, 15.9
F: Jerome Vaughn, Midland, 11.2
Honorary captains: James Parrott, Midland University; Thadd Varmall, York College.
Honorable mention: Dominique Grant, Shawn Tarver, Bellevue; Porter Birtell, Beau Smith, Concordia; Jens Scholl, Shavontae Samuels, Domonique Smith, Doane; Dylan Flinn, Hastings; Ben Imig, Midland; Eric Jackson, Trevor Johnson, Tim Schweitzer, Nebraska Wesleyan; Kody Kirkpatrick, Richard Oppitz, Peru State; Spencer Plank, Hakeem Stewart, Grace.