Lexi Ackerman and Jessica Tietz were both named to the All-GPAC Women’s Basketball First Team and Jamie Sale was named the league’s coach of the year for the fifth time.

Lexi Ackerman and Jessica Tietz were both named to the 2015-16 All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Women’s Basketball First Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

In addition to placing two players on the All-GPAC First Team, the Mustangs’ Jamie Sale was named the 2015-16 Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year. Sale has guided the Mustangs to a 31-2 record and this year’s GPAC regular season and post-season tournament championships. Morningside won this year’s GPAC regular season championship with a 20-2 league record to win the title by a five-game advantage for the largest winning margin in league history. The Mustangs will make their 14th consecutive national tournament appearance under Sale at next week’s NAIA Division II National Tournament at Sioux City’s Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena. Sale, who has a 418-106 career record in 14 plus season at Morningside, was named the GPAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his Morningside career.

Ackerman, a 5-10 junior guard from Rock Rapids, Iowa, is averaging 12.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, leads the Mustangs with 158 assists for an average of 4.8 per game, and is second on the team with 69 steals for a norm of 2.1 steals per contest. She has made 149 of 320 field goal attempts for 46.6 percent and converted 95 of 120 free throw attempts for 79.2 percent.

Ackerman was named to the All-GPAC First Team for the second year in a row. She was a second-team all-league selection and the Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Freshman of the Year in 2013-14. She is the 24th leading scorer in Morningside history with 1131 career points.

Tietz, a 6-2 senior forward from Bancroft, Neb., is the Mustangs’ leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as well as the team leader with 36 blocked shots for a norm of 1.1 rejections per game. She has the Mustangs’ top single-game scoring and rebounding performances of the season with a career-high 32 points in an 80-74 win against Dakota Wesleyan and a career-high 15 rebounds in the Mustangs’ 97-68 win against Briar Cliff in the GPAC Tournament Semifinals. Tietz has drilled 203 of 315 field goal attempts to lead the nation in field goal accuracy at 64.4 percent. She is 103 of 147 from the free-throw line for 70.1 percent.

Tietz was a second-team All-GPAC selection as a sophomore and the 2013 GPAC Freshman of the Year. She is the 10th leading scorer and rebounder in Morningside history with 1377 career points and 747 career rebounds, respectively.

In addition to their two first-team selections, the Mustangs placed Madison Braun on the All-GPAC Second Team. Braun, a 5-8 sophomore guard from Bellevue, Neb., is the Mustangs’ third leading scorer with an average of 12.0 points per game and the team leader with 74 steals for a norm of 2.4 per game. Braun has made a team-high 74 3-point field goals in 189 attempts for 39.2 percent. She has made 136 of 279 overall field goal attempts for 48.7 percent and has converted 51 of 69 free throw attempts for 73.9 percent.

Taylor Bahensky, Lauren Lehmkuhl and Jordyn Wollenburg were both named to the All-GPAC honorable mention list.

Bahensky, a 5-9 junior guard from Omaha, Neb., is averaging 7.6 points per game and is third on the Mustangs with 79 assists and 48 steals for averages of 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per contest. She has made 40 of 116 3-point field goal attempts for 34.5 percent and 48 of 60 free throw attempts for 80.0 percent.

Lehmkuhl, a 6-0 sophomore forward from Wakefield, Neb., is the top scorer and rebounder off the Mustangs’ bench with averages of 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She is the Mustangs’ best 3-point shooter with 54 treys in 115 attempts for 47.0 percent. Lehmkuhl has made 105 of 202 overall field goal attempts for 52.0 percent and 22 of 26 free throw attempts for 84.6 percent.

Wollenburg, a 5-10 senior forward from Gretna, Neb., is averaging 7.1 points per game and is the Mustangs’ second leading rebounder with an average of 5.5 caroms per game. She is also second on the team with 84 assists for an average of 2.8 per game. Wollenburg has made 82 of 157 field goal attempts for 52.2 percent, 16 of 37 3-point field goal attempts for 43.2 percent, and 34 of 50 free throw attempts for 68.0 percent.

Wollenburg is the 18th leading rebounder in Morningside history with 567 career rebounds.

Click here for the complete 2015-16 All-GPAC Women’s Basketball Team.