Plucker, Burich and Brown Take Home NDSU Team Awards

FARGO, N.D.--Abby Plucker, Janae Burich and Alisa Brown picked up individual awards at North Dakota State University women's basketball year-end banquet held April 15. Seniors Jennifer Lopez and Plucker received special recognition from head coach Carolyn DeHoff and staff, and also addressed those in attendance.

Plucker, a 5-foot-11 senior from Parker, S.D. (Parker H.S.), received the Amy Ruley Leadership, Most Valuable Player and Top Defender awards. An honorable mention all-Summit League selection, she averaged 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds starting in 29 of 30 games played last season.

Plucker was one of 30 players nationally vying for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and was an alternate for the USA Basketball Pan American games team. She reached 1,000 points in 2011-12, finishing 21st all-time with 1,169.

Burich, a 6-foot-5 junior from Roseville, Minn.(Roseville Area H.S.), received the Aggressive Player of the Year and the Academic awards. She averaged 10.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in starting 30 of 31 games played in 2011-12.

The Aggressive Player award was based on the intangibles including blocked shots and Burich tied the school single-season record with 87 blocked shots and ranked 14th nationally.

Burich was named to the Capital One Academic All-America third team and all-district first team. She was a second-team all-Summit League selection.

Brown, a 5-foot-11 freshman from Sioux Falls, S.D. (O'Gorman H.S.), received the Most Improved Player award. Brown averaged 1 point and 1 rebound playing in 14 games, but proved to be an asset with her team-first attitude.

North Dakota State finished with an 11-20 record in 2012, including an 8-10 fifth place showing in The Summit League standings.