St. Thomas women’s basketball standout Hannah Spaulding was one of five players named to the D3hoops.com preseason All-American team. This accomplishment is yet another to add to the senior center’s decorated list.
Last season, she was named one of 10 first-team All-Americans on the WBCA Coaches’ honor team, was the MIAC Player of the Year and led the conference with a 19.8 point per game average.
Despite her individual achievements thus far, Spaulding hopes to carry the women’s basketball program to a second national championship win this season.
“It’s kind of what the team needs at this point,” Spaulding said. “If (breaking records) happens along the way, that’s awesome, but I’d much rather win a national championship with my team than break those records.”
Spaulding needs just 21 blocks this season to be No. 2 on the all-time block leaders list for the Tommies. Along with that, her 67 percent career field-goals made is on track to break a 26-year-old 63.3 percent record held by Class of ‘93 alumna Laurie Trow.
The women’s basketball team received the No. 4 preseason ranking nationally and the No. 1 spot in MIAC poll.
“It’s good to have those expectations. It just helps you perform well under pressure and get used to it as the season goes on,” Spaulding said.
In her first two seasons, Spaulding spent much of her time on the bench behind fellow All-American Kaitlyn Langer. After Langer graduated at the end of the 2016 season, though, Spaulding was able to make a name for herself.
“Slowly working my way up into this role has made me appreciate it a lot more,” Spaulding said. “We’ve had such great leaders in the past to learn from.”
Along with her hard work and commitment to the women’s basketball program, Spaulding prioritizes her studies and hopes to go to graduate school after graduating.
She is most proud of her academic all-conference awards.
“We perform well on the basketball court, but it’s more about what we are going to do after that,” Spaulding said. “Being a good basketball player is awesome, but it’s the skills and time management that you gain from it, too.”
No matter what the statistics and awards show individually, Spaulding will always care first and foremost about the team.
“Playing at the D-III level, you do it because you love the game and because you love your teammates, which I think is different than a lot of other divisions and schools,” Spaulding said. “Every day, you get to go hangout with your friends and go to practice. And even when practice sucks sometimes, you’re still with all your best friends.”
Carly Noble can be reached at nobl1781@stthomas.edu.