NRHEG alum Carlie Wagner named All-Region Nominee

Published 3:14 pm Sunday, March 25, 2018

Minnesota senior guard Carlie Wagner and junior guard Kenisha Bell were each named as All-Region Nominees for the 2018 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America Monday.

The selection committee will select the 10-member WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America team from the 52 candidates that include Bell and Wagner. The team will be announced Thursday, March 29, during the WBCA Convention in Columbus, Ohio. Minnesota was one of 16 teams to have at least two representatives.

A unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection, Bell led the Gophers by averaging 20.0 points and 6.8 assists per game. She set single-season school records for both made free throws (187) and free throw attempts (255) this year, while her assist total (223) and assist rate were both the second most in the last 37 years at Minnesota. Bell also averaged 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals per contest.

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Bell, a member of the All-Big Ten Defensive Team, had four 30-point games this year, including a career-high 35 points at Iowa on Feb. 4. She tied for the team lead with six double-doubles on the season.

Like Bell, Wagner was also an All-Big Ten First Team honoree. She finished second on the team with 18.7 points per game, while also averaging 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per contest. She made 101 3-pointers on the year, the second highest total in program history, while shooting better than 41 percent from beyond the arc.

Wagner finished her career ranked third all-time at Minnesota in scoring (2,215), second in 3-pointers made (307), 3-pointers attempted (880), field goal attempts (2,109) and games in double figures (114), fourth in field goals made (820), free throw percentage (.786) and career starts (124), and sixth in scoring average (17.2).

Minnesota finished the 2017-18 season with a 24-9 record and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years.