Friday, June 5, 2009

PROUD COACHES


We have great kids here at MSU who do incredible things. I am proud!

Here are two articles on two of our athletes written by Tom Schulz our Sports Information Director

Jamie Thornton, a 6-4 center on the Montana State women’s basketball squad, recently participated in the NCAA’s National Student-Athlete Development Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Six-hundred student-athletes from Division I, II and III were selected out of over 2,000 applicants to attend the conference. The NSADC focused on such issues as diversity, student-athlete well-being, substance abuse, personal branding and sportsmanship.

Thornton will serve as president of Montana State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee this season, and has been part of SAAC the past two years. In addition, she is a three-time All Big Sky Conference academic selection.

“We’re proud of all of her accomplishments,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “She was a perfect representative to go out and be positive voice for our student-athletes. The conference was a great opportunity for Jaime to take a leadership role, and glean knowledge that will help our program as a whole next year. She was able to learn from other student-athletes from around the country, as well as share the accomplishments of the Bobcat athletic department.”

Thornton currently has cumulative 3.96 grade-point average and is majoring in mathematics.

ARTICLE # 2
Montana State women’s basketball player Mara Hoefer, who recently completed her senior year at MSU, has signed to play professionally for BBV Leipzig, in the German second league later this summer.

“Mara is a real center with solid post moves and thus she’s just what we needed last season,” said BBV Leipzig head coach Ritz Ingram. “Furthermore, she makes a professional impression and is very hard working.”

Hoefer, a 6-1 native of Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany, played in 27 games, including eleven starts this past winter. She averaged 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds, while shooting 48 percent from the field. Hoefer recorded a career-high 15 points in MSU’s win over Eastern Washington, along with a season-best seven rebounds on two occasions.

Hoefer was a two-time All Big Sky Conference academic selection and recently graduated with highest honors from Montana State with a degree in business marketing.

I am more than proud of our athlete's accomplishments.

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