April 22, 2008

Maria Mackey to Play at Northland College

The Northland College Women’s Basketball Program has announced that Maria Mackey, a 5’8” guard from Holmen, WI, will attend Northland College and play basketball for the Jills next year. Mackey was a three-year starter for the Holmen Vikings and played under the coaching of Duane Vike. She led the team to a 39-29 record over those three years and 22-14 in the Mississippi Valley Conference, including a second place finish her senior year in which Holmen was 10-2 in conference and 16-7 overall. While being a captain her senior season, Mackey averaged 13.7 points per game and added 2.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 assists per game, and led her team to a win in the regional final before bowing out to the eventual sectional winner in a close contest. She shot 42% from the field, including 30% from the arc, and a stellar 88% from the free throw line. Mackey finished her high school career with 651 points, 160 rebounds, 90 steals, and 62 assists.

Her basketball awards are numerous. She won team awards every single year including the Most Outstanding Player Award her senior year. She earned Honorable Mention All-Conference her junior season and First Team All-Conference her senior year. She was also named to the First Team LaCrosse Tribune All-Region Team, was named Honorable Mention All-State, and was selected to play in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division I All-Star game to be held in Madison in June.

Northland’s Head Coach, Dan Roiger, had this to say about Mackey, “Maria is an outstanding basketball player with high accolades coming from a large school. I believe she will be ready to contribute in a short amount of time. She is a shooter and a scorer, and understands her strengths on the floor. She knows how to take advantage of the defense and free herself up for a shot. She is also a gamer, and has performed her best when under pressure near the end of games. Her high free throw percentage is an indication of her excellent shooting form and hours of practice. She comes from a basketball family and has great instincts and understanding of the game. We are very excited to add her to our roster and think she has very high potential!”

The Northland College Women’s team finished 16-11 this past season, and 10-4 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. They took second place in the regular season, just one game out of first place, and advanced to the championship game of their conference tournament. They return their entire starting lineup for next season and 87% of their scoring.

Maria is the daughter of Tom and Pat Mackey of Holmen, WI, and has two older siblings, Lisa (29) and Michael (19). She is an outstanding student, carrying a 4.13 weighted gpa, and was on the Highest Honor Roll every semester of high school. She also was named a Scholar Athlete and received a LaCrosse Area Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Student award. Coach Roiger added, “Maria’s academics are outstanding and she will fit in well with our team. Her intellectual abilities are another reason why she plays so smart out on the floor and why she will catch on to the college game quickly. We are very fortunate to attract student’s of Maria’s academic caliber to our program.” Northland College Women’s Basketball players had a 3.37 team gpa and eight of their players were recognized by their conference with Academic All-Conference Awards this past season.