CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The 2022-23 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) All-Conference Women’s Basketball Team as voted on by the league’s head coaches:

2022-23 All-American Rivers Conference Women's Basketball Team
Most Valuable Player Sara Faber, Jr., Wartburg College
Defensive Player of the Year Cassie Nash, Sr., Simpson College
Coach of the Year Bob Amsberry, Wartburg College
Most Valuable Player	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
Sara Faber #	Wartburg	Jr.	G	Clear Lake, Iowa/Clear Lake
Defensive Player of the Year	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
Cassie Nash ! @	Simpson	Sr.	G	Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast
First Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
Caydee Kirkham	Coe	Fr.	G	Carthage, Ill./Illini West
Kaalyn Petersen $	Coe	Jr.	C	Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf
Tabria Thomas ! &	Dubuque	Sr.	G	Elizabeth, Ill./River Ridge
Cierra Bachmann $ @	Loras	Sr.	G	Channahon, Ill./Minooka
Sami Martin ! &	Loras	Jr.	F	Platteville, Wis./Platteville
Kailey Jones #	Luther	So.	F	Avoca, Iowa/AHSTW
Cassie Nash ! @	Simpson	Sr.	G	Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast
Jaedon Murphy ! @	Wartburg	Jr.	F	Alleman, Iowa/North Polk
Second Team	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
Kelsea Hurley # & ^	Central	Sr.	G	Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain
Allison Van Gorp #	Central	So.	C	Pella, Iowa/Pella Christian
Madison Fleckenstein !	Loras	Sr.	G	Asbury, Iowa/Hempstead
Daniella Jarrell	Loras	So.	G	Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills
Haley Rasmussen	Simpson	So.	G	Atlantic, Iowa/Atlantic
Anna Wanek #	Simpson	Sr.	G	Urbandale, Iowa/Dowling Catholic
Macy Harris #	Wartburg	Sr.	G	Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell
Britney Young	Wartburg	Jr.	G	Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown / High School
McKenna Cone	Buena Vista	So.	G	Greeley, Colo./Northridge
Danika Demers	Buena Vista	Fr.	G	Storm Lake, Iowa/St. Mary's
Abby Johnson	Central	So.	G	Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny
Molly Buck	Coe	Sr.	G	Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls
Morgan Hawkins	Dubuque	So.	F	Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead
Kathleen Mathias	Dubuque	Sr.	G	Darlington, Wis./Darlington
Isabella Tierney	Dubuque	So.	G	Elk Grove, Ill./Conant
Lizzie Kauls	Luther	Sr.	F	North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View
Jordan Rubie %	Luther	Jr.	G	Winona, Minn./Cotter
Maggie Wilkins	Wartburg	So.	G	Knoxville, Iowa/Knoxville
Previous Honors
! - 2021-22 First Team All-Conference
# - 2021-22 Second Team All-Conference
$ - 2021-22 Honorable Mention
& - 2020-21 First Team All-Conference
@ - 2020-21 Second Team All-Conference
% - 2020-21 Honorable Mention
^ - 2019-20 Second Team All-Conference

NOTE: The MVP shall have standing as an All-Conference player but is not a member of the first or second team.
NOTE: The defensive player of the year is not honored as All-Conference unless selected to the first or second team by the coaches.
 
The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today its major women’s basketball awards and the 17-member All-Conference team for the 2022-23 season. Wartburg College junior guard Sara Faber (Clear Lake, Iowa/Clear Lake) has been named the American Rivers Conference Most Valuable Player and picking up the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honors is senior guard Cassie Nash (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) of Simpson College. Wartburg College head coach Bob Amsberry earned the honor of American Rivers Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year after guiding the Knights to a 15-1 mark in league play to earn the regular season conference title.
 
Faber was the leading scorer for the regular season champions, the Wartburg Knights. The junior guard finished the year in the top 10 in the league in five categories: points per game (ppg), three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, assists per game, and steals. Faber was second in the league from behind the arc as she shot 40.2%. She finished third in the league in scoring average (15.4ppg), fifth in total steals (33), sixth in assists per game (2.7), and seventh in free throw percentage (78.0%). Additionally, the Clear Lake native shot 43.3% from the floor and average 4.8 rebounds per game.
 
The junior guard for the Knights is the sixth player in Wartburg history to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player. Faber joins Emma Gerdes (2020, 2019), Katie Sommer (2018, 2017), Samantha Harrington (2011), Holly Mohs (2002, 2001), Kathy Roberts (1992), and Kathy Smith (1990). While earning the league’s Most Valuable Player award, Faber also earns a spot on the first team. This is her second All-Conference honor as she was named to the second team a year ago.
 
In Simpson’s 16 conference games, Nash was the key defender for the Storm, recording a conference-best 60 steals while adding 16 blocks, which is fifth-best in the conference. Additionally, the Lincoln, Nebraska native averaged 15.6ppg, while shooting 57.1% from the floor, both of which stood second in the league. Nash also averaged 5.5 assists per game which put her atop the conference.
 
Since the league began honoring a Defensive Player of the Year in 2010-11, Nash is the second player from Simpson to earn the accolade, joining Nicole Crisp from the 2012-13 season. Additionally, Nash was selected first team all-conference, as the defensive player of the year is not honored as all-conference unless selected to the first or second team by the league’s head coaches. This is the third all-conference recognition for the senior guard as she earned first team nods a year ago and second team two seasons ago.
 
In Amsberry’s 17^th year at the helm of the Knights women’s basketball program, he has guided Wartburg to four of the program’s conference titles. Amsberry and assistants Kelley Jacobs and Justin Little led the Knights to a 15-1 conference season in 2022-23. The Wartburg Knights were crowned conference champions for the 10^th time (1989-90, 1991-92, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2022-23).
 
The American Rivers All-Conference first team highlights players from six of the league’s nine institutions, with four players earning first team honors for at least the second time in their career. The remaining four athletes are earning first team All-American Rivers honors for the first time. The first team consists of three seniors, three juniors, one sophomore, and one first year.
 
Junior Jaedon Murphy (Alleman, Iowa/North Polk) join Faber as a first team all-conference performer as integral pieces of Wartburg’s stellar season. The junior forward averaged 11.6ppg, while also shooting 75.8% from the free throw line. Murphy posted a third-best 20 blocks in the conference this season. Additionally, the Alleman native averaged 5.4 rebounds per game.
 
After leading the Coe College Kohawks to hosting a first-round A-R-C women’s basketball tournament game, first year Caydee Kirkham (Carthage, Ill./Illini West) and junior Kaalyn Peterson (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) are earning all-conference nods for the first time in their careers. Additionally, Peterson was a 2021-22 honorable mention performer. Kirkham stood in the top 10 in four different categories after the 16-game league season. The first year guard was second in the league averaging 4.4 assists per game, sixth in points per game (14.1), seventh in field-goal percentage (50.0%), and tenth in free throw percentage (75.7%). In addition, Kirkham averaged 5.0 rebounds per game while also recording 22 steals. Peterson also stook in the top 10 in the league in four different categories. The junior center was second in rebounds per game (10.2) and total blocks (23). Additionally, Peterson average 13.9ppg which is good for seventh in the league and posted a field-goal percentage of 49.4% which was ninth in the A-R-C this season.
 
Dubuque’s Tabria Thomas (Elizabeth, Ill./River Ridge) is picking up her third first-team all-conference honor in her career. The senior guard led the league with 17.7ppg while shooting 61.0% from the floor including 50.0% from behind the arc. Additionally, in her 14 games played, Thomas recorded 36 steals which stands fourth best in the conference.
 
Powering the Duhawks in the 2022-23 season was the duo of Cierra Bachmann (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) and Sami Martin (Platteville, Wis./Platteville). Martin is earning her third first-team all-conference recognition while Bachmann found herself on the first team for the first time in her career. Bachmann was previously named a 2021-22 honorable mention and 2020-21 second-team all-conference performer. Martin was fourth in the conference as she averaged 15.1ppg while shooting 55.0% from the floor. The junior forward pulled down 7.4 rebounds per game and had 27 steals during the conference season. Bachmann averaged 12.7ppg while shooting 49.6% from the floor. The senior guard also shot 40.0% from behind the arc which is the third best in the conference and 87.5% from the free throw line to lead the A-R-C this season. Additionally, Bachmann recorded 49 steals in her 15 games played.
 
Rounding out the first-team all-conference honorees this season is Luther College sophomore Kailey Jones (Avoca, Iowa/AHSTW). Jones averaged 12.8ppg this season which is the tenth-best average in the league. The sophomore forward shot 50.3% from the floor while shooting 83.7% from the free throw line. Additionally, she pulled down a conference-best 10.8 rebounds per game. The Avoca native is picking up her second all-conference recognition in her career after being named a second-team performer a season ago.