Women’s basketball wins west region honors

St. Thomas women’s basketball guard Jenna Dockter was named the 2015 D3hoops.com Women’s All-West Regional Player of the Year Monday morning. On top of that, Dockter and forward Maggie Weiers were named to the All-West Regional first team and coach Ruth Sinn was named regional Coach of the Year.

Dockter and Weiers, who are both seniors, were the only Tommies to receive All-Region honors. Coach Ruth Sinn said both players were assets to the team and will be greatly missed by the St. Thomas program.

“It’s obviously a huge honor,” Dockter said. “It’s a great way to go out as a senior, but our team is the one who has gotten everybody to where they are. So it’s a definitely a big honor, but it definitely wouldn’t be possible without the teammates.”

Dockter and Weiers were among eight seniors who finished their playing careers at St. Thomas with a record of 110-14, including a Final Four trip in 2011-2012.

“I think because we had eight seniors on the team we were trying to leave a strong legacy and tradition for Tommie basketball players,” Dockter said. “I think it just speaks to the work ethic of our team and our determination even through all of the adversity we went through this season.”

Dockter led the team in scoring this season with 13.9 points per game. Weiers was second in that category and averaged 12.3 points per game. Both players said it is great for these accomplishments to bring recognition to the program.

“I’m not really into individual awards,” Weiers said. “I feel like it’s great, and our team deserves a lot of recognition for what we accomplished this year. I just played my part in our success, so I guess it’s pretty cool for our team just to be recognized in that way.”

Dockter said this honor was more special because of the personal adversity she faced her junior season. In 2013-2014, Dockter tore her ACL and only played in 8 of the team’s 30 total games.

“It makes it even sweeter definitely just because I did have to sit out for awhile, and when you sit on the sidelines, you realize what a big opportunity and how thankful you are when you are able to be out on the court,” Dockter said.

Sinn led the team to the best overall record in program and MIAC history and added another noteworthy award to her impressive resume. She was announced the All-West Region Coach of the Year for the second time in her career, the other being 2011-2012.

Weiers and Dockter both said Sinn was a great coach to play for because of how she treated her players and cared about things larger than basketball.

“That’s a great honor. She was fantastic to play for. She cared about all of her players, not just as basketball players but as people,” Weiers said. “(She) helped build our character and our growth in college, so we really appreciated the support she gave us in all aspects of life. She’ll be a mentor, I think, for the rest of my life.”

“I think the biggest thing is that coach Sinn is just about the people and the relationships. She’s just such a fun coach to play for because she really gets to know you on a personal level and develops you as a player and a person,” Dockter said. “All the hard work she puts in as a coach really helps us players.”