Mustang women’s basketball head coach Jamie Sale announced the names of 12 high school seniors who will join the Mustangs next season.

Morningside women’s basketball head coach Jamie Sale announced the names of 11 high school recruits who will join the Mustangs for the 2016-17 season.

The recruits are:

Paige Beacom, a 5-10 forward from Council Bluffs, Iowa. Beacom is a senior at Council Bluffs St. Albert High School, where earned second-team Class 2A all-state honors from the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) and third-team all-state laurels from the Iowa Girls Coaches Association (IGCA) this past season. She was a Des Moines Register honorable mention all-state selection and a first-team All-Hawkeye 10 Conference performer. Beacom was St. Albert’s leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as well as the team leader with 114 steals and 15 blocked shots.  She was Iowa’s Class 2A leader with an average of 5.2 steals per game. Beacom made 168 of 377 field goal attempts for 44.6 percent and was St. Albert’s best free throw shooter with a team-high 83 free throws in 111 attempts for 74.8 percent.

She also earned first-team All-Hawkeye 10 honors as a junior when she led St. Albert with averages of 17.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and also topped the team with 86 steals and 61 assists for norms of 3.6 steals and 2.5 assists per contest.

Beacom was a first-team All-Hawkeye 10 selection as a sophomore and a second-team all-conference pick as a freshman while attending Council Bluffs Lewis Central High School. She led Lewis Central in scoring with an average of 11.7 points per game to compliment averages of 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.0 steals per game as a sophomore. Beacom averaged 8.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals, and 2.6 assists per game as a freshman. She led the team with 72 steals and was Lewis Central’s best free throw shooter with 53 free throws in 69 attempts for 76.8 percent.

Alexis DeWall, a 5-7 guard from Duluth, Minn. DeWall is a senior at Proctor High School, where she has was a four-year starter and a first-team All-Lake Superior Conference, first-team all-area, and honorable mention all-state performer. She will graduate as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1735 career points. DeWall scored a school-record 41 points in a game against Virginia and averaged a school-record 15.5 points per game over her varsity career. She also set Proctor records with 840 career rebounds, 482 career steals, and 327 career made free throws. She had over 100 steals in each of her final three varsity seasons, including a career-high 148 thefts as a junior.

DeWall averaged just under a double-double this past season with averages of 16.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game to compliment norms of 3.7 steals and 2.1 assists per contest. DeWall’s most productive season came as a junior when she averaged a career-high 22.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.7 steals, and 2.7 assists per game. She averaged 16.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.9 steals, and 2.1 assists per game as a sophomore and 8.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 steals, and 1.7 assists per game as a freshman.

Anna Dreessen, a 5-6 guard from Lawton, Iowa. Dreessen is a senior at Lawton-Bronson High School, where she was a three-year starter. Dreessen averaged 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and led the Eagles with 33 3-point field goals this past season. She had 61 assists and 55 steals for averages of 2.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game.

She averaged 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game to go along with 100 assists and 75 steals for norms of 4.3 assists and 3.3 steals per game as a junior. Dreessen earned second-team All-Western Valley Conference honors as a sophomore when she averaged a career-high 11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and dealt a career-high 107 assists to go along with 71 steals for career-high averages of 5.6 assists and 3.7 steals per game.

Abby Drieling, a 5-6 guard from Emerson, Neb. Drieling is a senior at Emerson-Hubbard High School, where she amassed a whopping 528 steals over her four-year varsity career. Drieling earned first-team all-state honors from the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star this past season after she helped lead the Pirates to a 28-1 record and Nebraska’s Class D-1 state championship. She averaged 16.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game and had 144 steals and 116 assists for norms of 5.0 steals and 4.0 assists per contest.

Drieling was a second-team Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star all-stater as a junior when she averaged 16.3 points, 5.5 steals, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. She averaged 16.2 points, 4.5 assists, 4.2 steals, and 3.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore en route to first-team Omaha World-Herald and second-team Lincoln Journal-Star all-state laurels. Drieling, a four-year starter, was an Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star honorable mention all-stater as a freshman when she averaged 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.9 steals, and 4.7 assists per contest.

Cassidy Ely, a 5-8 guard from Montezuma, Iowa. Ely is a senior at Montezuma High School, where she was a three-year varsity letterwinner. She was Montezuma’s third leading rebounder as a junior with 55 caroms for an average of 2.5 rebounds per game to compliment a 1.8-point scoring average.

DeAndra Fritz, a 5-6 guard from Maryville, Tenn. Fritz is a senior at Maryville High School, where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner. She averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and finished second on the team with an average of 2.2 steals per contest this past season.

Rachel Gangestad, a 5-8 guard from Vail, Iowa. Gangestad is a senior at Ar-We-Va High School, where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner. She averaged 4.2 points per game and was Ar-We-Va’s third leading rebounder with an average of 5.8 rebounds per game this past season. She finished fourth on the team with 35 steals.

Alexandra Homan, a 5-6 guard from Omaha, Neb. Homan is a senior at Omaha Gross Catholic High School, where she averaged 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals per game en route to honorable mention Class B all-state honors from the Omaha World-Herald in addition to honorable mention All-River City Conference recognition. Homan had 20 double figure scoring performances, including a season’s high 27 points in games against Gretna and Ralston.

Homan received honorable mention Class B all-state recognition from the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star as a junior.

Sydney Hupp, a 6-0 forward from O’Neill, Neb. Hupp is a senior at O’Neill St. Mary’s High School, where she earned first-team Class D-2 all-state honors from the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star after she led St. Mary’s to a runner-up finish at this year’s state tournament. She was her team’s leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 18.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She had 67 steals for a norm of 2.5 thefts per game and a team-high 35 blocked shots for an average of 1.3 per game. Hupp drilled 187 of 320 field goal attempts for 58.4 percent and converted 122 of 163 free throw attempts for 74.8 percent. Hupp had season’s highs of 29 points and seven blocked shots against Elgin/Pope John, 17 rebounds against Louisville, and nine steals against Hyannis.

Hupp was an Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star first-team all-stater as a junior when she helped lead St. Mary’s to Nebraska’s Class D-1 state championship. She was St. Mary’s leading scorer and rebounder with averages of 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Hupp also averaged 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game and made 156 of 293 field goal attempts for 53.2 percent. Hupp was an Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star honorable mention Class D-1 all-stater as a sophomore.

Jordyn Moser, a 5-6 guard from Harlan, Iowa. Moser is a senior at Harlan High School, where she earned first-team Class 4A INA all-state honors in addition to second-team IGCA all-state and first-team All-Hawkeye 10 Conference recognition this past season. She led Harlan with 81 assists and 78 steals for averages of 3.5 assists and 3.4 steals per game to compliment norms of 16.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Moser made 125 of 277 field goal attempts for 45.1 percent, a team-high 48 3-point field goals in 132 attempts for 36.4 percent, and 70 of 97 free throw attempts for a team-high 72.2 percent.

She was a third-team IGCA all-stater and a second-team All-Hawkeye 10 performer as a junior when she averaged 9.2 points per game and had 104 assists and a team-high 63 steals for averages of 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game to help lead Harlan to a perfect 26-0 record and Iowa’s Class 4A state championship. Moser also played for a 26-0 state championship team as a sophomore when she averaged 10.4 points per game to go along with team-high totals of 99 assists and 63 steals for averages of 3.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game en route to second-team All-Hawkeye 10 recognition.

Alyssa Novotny, a 5-9 guard from Clarkson, Neb. Novotny, a senior at Clarkson/Leigh High School, was forced to miss her senior season due to an injury. She averaged a double-double as a junior with norms of 15.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game en route to honorable mention Class C-2 all-state recognition from the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star. Aside from leading her team in scoring and rebounding, Novotny also topped the Patriots with averages of 2.9 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 blocked shots per game. She made 109 of 248 field goal attempts for 44.0 percent and 58 of 80 free throw attempts for 72.5 percent and set school records with 37 points against Scribner-Snyder and 23 rebounds against Cedar Bluffs.

Novotny also received Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star honorable mention all-state laurels as a sophomore when she averaged 16.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

Rylie Zyzda, a 5-5 guard from Sioux City. Zyzda is a senior at Sioux City East High School, where she earned first-team All-Missouri River Activities Conference (MRAC) honors this past season. She was East’s leading scorer and third leading rebounder with averages of 13.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Zyzda also topped the Black Raiders with 33 assists and 93 steals and was East’s best free throw shooter with a team-high 106 free throws in 141 attempts for 75.2 percent. Zyzda ranked third in the state in Iowa’s Class 5A ranks with an average of 4.0 steals per game.

Zyzda also led East in steals as a junior with 77 for an average of 3.2 steals per game to compliment a 5.8-point scoring average.

Morningside posted a 33-3 record during the 2015-16 season and won the GPAC regular season championship with a 20-2 league record and the GPAC Post-Season Tournament championship with an 80-59 victory against Dakota Wesleyan in the title game. The Mustangs finished five games in front of runner-ups Dakota Wesleyan and Mount Marty College to win the GPAC regular season title by the largest margin in the history of the league.

Morningside has posted 13 consecutive 20-win seasons and has made 14 consecutive appearances in the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The Mustangs have a 396-72 record for a .846 winning percentage over the last 13 seasons and were NAIA Division II National Champions in 2004, 2005, 2009, and 2015.