Trifecta of Tigers named to SLIAC All-Decade team

The 2010s were a good year for Iowa Wesleyan women's basketball. One of the most successful sports the Tigers had to offer produced some of the best talent in the conference, and that showed in the 2010-19 All-Decade team, put out by the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Three former players were named to the All-Decade team, which includes the best players from the conference over a 10-year stretch. Two-year stars Karla Vietinghoff and Rachel Williams were named to the list, as Darby Massner, who played four years for the Tigers.

Vietinghoff, a guard who transferred to Iowa Wesleyan from Waubonsee Communnity College, played for IW for two years. She was a standout in the 2013-14 and 2-14-15 seasons. In both of those seasons, Vietinghoff was named SLIAC Player of the Year. She was also a first-team United States Collegiate Athletic Association All-American. She averaged 16.6 points per game and broke the SLIAC record for made 3-pointers in a game, with 10, when she lit up Prinpica College on January 17, 2015.

Vietinghoff led the Tigers to a 23-4 overall record and a 17-1 SLIAC mark in 2013-14. IW also earned a bid into the USCAA National Tournament.

In 2014-15, the Tigers remained strong, going 19-7 overall and 15-2 in conference play, and returning to the USCAA tournament.

Rachel Williams came along in Vietinghoff's second year, transferring in from Pima Community College to play in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. The point guard did everything for the Tigers, scoring 12.7 points per game and also collecting 187 rebounds and 89 steals.

Williams was the 2015-16 SLIAC Player of the Year, making it three-in-a-row for IW. She helped lead the team to a 20-8 overall record and a 13-5 conference mark. That year the Tigers made the USCAA National Championship game, where she recorded 10 points and 11 assists in a 72-65 loss.

During that 2015-16 season, Williams was joined by a freshman sharpshooter from Mediapolis named Darby Massner, who was also named to the All-Decade squad. Massner played for four seasons, scoring 13.7 points per game and hitting 205 3-pointers.

Massner shares the 3-point record of 10 made threes a game. She tied Vietinghoff with 10 3-pointers in a road game at Blackburn during her freshman season.

Massner was named to the All-SLIAC team in three of her four years with the team. She was a key member of the squad for all four years.

During IW's USCAA national championship game in 2016, Massner went off for a team-high 21 points, including seven made 3-pointers.

The SLIAC Jalso recognized two coaches on the All-Decade list. Former Westminster head coach Tracey Braden and former Spalding coach Charlie Just were both honored.

Below is the full list of SLIAC All-Decade women's basketball players.

2010-19 SLIAC ALL-DECADE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

Iowa Wesleyan University: Karla Vietinghoff, Rachel Williams, Darby Massner

Westminster College: Kendahl Adams, Rachel Backes, Kasey Gatson, Leigh Ann Lutz, Andrea Zalis

Eureka College: Caty Eeten, Hayley Renau, Kelsey Shoemake

Greenville University: Laura Goodnight, Wesley Woodard

Spalding University: Jessica Guy, Kelly Harrod, Kerstin Hayes, Alex Martin

Fontbonne University: Emily Haring, Rylee Stafford, Raven Venegas

Principia College: Lindsay Sydness

Webster University: Maggie Zehner