Wartburg Knights women's basketball

The Wartburg Knights women's basketball team represents the Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, United States. The team is a member of the American Rivers Conference as well as the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team plays its regular season games in Levick Arena, along with men's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams.

Wartburg Knights
Head coachBob Amsberry (18th season)
ConferenceARC
LocationWaverly, Iowa
ArenaLevick Arena
(capacity: 2,000)
NicknameKnights
ColorsOrange and Black[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
Alternate jersey
Team colours
Alternate
NCAA tournament Final Four
2016, 2018, 2024
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1992, 1993, 2001, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2024
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
2001, 2002, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024
Conference regular season champions
1990, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024

History

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Wartburg women's basketball began in 1974, under head coach Doug Johnson. The first Wartburg team finished 12–3 in 1974–75, its first victory coming against the Northern Iowa Panthers. Johnson coached only one season at Wartburg, which marked first winning season.[2] Since Johnson Wartburg has had a total of 7 head coaches, the majority of the seasons coached by Monica Severson and current head coach Bob Amsberry.

The 2015–16 season Wartburg broke through to their first final four in school history.[3] The unranked Knights got an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002. They would beat 3 ranked teams on their way to a regional championship and finish the season 23–8. Since that year the Knights have made it to 8 straight NCAA tournaments and two other appearances in the NCAA Final Four in 2018 and 2024.[4][5]

NCAA tournament results

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Wartburg has appeared in 17 NCAA Tournaments with a record of 26–17.[6]

Year Rank Round Opponent Result
1989 First Round Augustana (Ill) L 74−93
1990 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Augustana (Ill)
Buena Vista
W 72–57
L 63−78
1991 First Round Luther L 54−78
1992 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
UW-Stout
St. Benedict (MN)
Luther
W 90–72
W 74–64
L 61–70
1993 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Wash U (MO)
UW-Whitewater
Central (IA)
W 75–60
W 83–77
L 60–62
1994 First Round Aurora (IL) L 57–61
1999 First Round St Thomas L 41–67
2001 13 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Chapman
Nebraska Wesleyan
Fontbonne
Wash U (MO)
W 86–78
W 85–71
W 82–78
L 71–83
2002 First Round Carleton L 61–71
2016 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Wisconsin Lutheran
#11 UW-Oshkosh
#8 St. Thomas
#5 Texas Tyler
#7 Tufts
W 65–49
W 66–56
W 70–66
W 80–74
L 50–63
2017 9 First Round Chicago L 63–67
2018 2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Webster
#12 George Fox
#7 Trine
East Texas Baptist
#5 Bowdoin
W 86–45
W 82–58
W 78–54
W 65–61
L 62–90
2019 11 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Bethany Lutheran
#9 Hope
#13 UW-Oshkosh
#2 St. Thomas (MN)
W 91–63
W 76–49
W 70–57
L 56–85
2020 5 First Round
Second Round
Monmouth
#11 Whitman
W 91–55
L 63–67
2022 First Round Millikin L 68–81
2023 24 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#13 Baldwin Wallace
#6 Hope
#1 Christopher Newport
W 57–43
W 81–67
L 51–60
2024 6 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Wisconsin Lutheran
#16 Illinois Wesleyan
Bates
#9 Washington and Lee
#14 Smith
W 72–65
W 62–59
W 54–53
W 68–58
L 54-61 OT

Head Coaching Records

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Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wartburg Knights (no conference games) (1975–1982)
1974–1975 Doug Johnson 12-3
Doug Johnson: 12-3
1975–1976 Marge Schaffer 11-11
Marge Schaffer: 11-11
1976–1977 Cheryl Wren 14-8
1977–1978 Cheryl Wren 15-6
Cheryl Wren: 29-14
1978–1979 Nancy Schley 14-8
1979–1980 Nancy Schley 9-16
1980–1981 Nancy Schley 9-17
Nancy Schley: 32-41
1981–1982 Kathy Meyer Thomas 9-14
Wartburg Knights (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1982–2018)
1982–1983 Kathy Meyer Thomas 7-14 1-5
1983–1984 Kathy Meyer Thomas 14-10 8-6
1984–1985 Kathy Meyer Thomas 9-14 6-8
1985–1986 Kathy Meyer Thomas 6-18 4-10
1986–1987 Kathy Meyer Thomas 6-18 3-14
1987–1988 Kathy Meyer Thomas 13-12 9-7
Kathy Meyer Thomas: 64-86 31-50
1988–1989 Monica Severson 21-6 13-4 2nd NCAA First Round
1989–1990 Monica Severson 22-5 14-2 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1990–1991 Monica Severson 20-7 13-3 2nd NCAA First Round
1991–1992 Monica Severson 23-4 17-0 1st NCAA Elite Eight
1992–1993 Monica Severson 23-5 13-3 2nd NCAA Elite Eight
1993–1994 Monica Severson 20-6 14-2 2nd NCAA First Round
1994–1995 Monica Severson 11-12 7-9 5th
1995–1996 Monica Severson 17–7 11-5 3rd
1996–1997 Monica Severson 16-8 12-4 3rd
1997–1998 Monica Severson 17–8 15-5 3rd
1998–1999 Monica Severson 20-5 17-3 2nd NCAA First Round
1999–2000 Monica Severson 17-8 14-6 2nd
2000–2001 Monica Severson 26-5 18-2 1st NCAA Elite Eight
2001–2002 Monica Severson 21–7 14-4 1st NCAA First Round
2002–2003 Monica Severson 19–8 14-4 3rd
2003–2004 Monica Severson 19-9 11-5 3rd
2004–2005 Monica Severson 16-11 9-7 4th
2005–2006 Monica Severson

Kathy Franken

7-17 4-12 8th
Monica Severson: 335-131 233-80
2006–2007 Bob Amsberry 13-13 8-8 6th
2007–2008 Bob Amsberry 13-11 6-10 7th
2008–2009 Bob Amsberry 16-11 10-6 2nd
2009–2010 Bob Amsberry 18-8 12-4 3rd
2010–2011 Bob Amsberry 21-5 12-4 3rd
2011–2012 Bob Amsberry 18-9 10-6 T-3rd
2012–2013 Bob Amsberry 16-10 9-5 2nd
2013–2014 Bob Amsberry 12-15 5-9 T–5th
2014–2015 Bob Amsberry 17-11 6-8 T-5th
2015–2016 Bob Amsberry 23-8 9-5 3rd NCAA Final Four
2016–2017 Bob Amsberry 25-3 15-1 1st NCAA First Round
2017–2018 Bob Amsberry 31-1 16-0 1st NCAA Final Four
Wartburg Knights (American Rivers Conference) (2018–Present)
2018-2019 Bob Amsberry 27-4 15-1 1st NCAA Elite Eight
2019-2020 Bob Amsberry 25-4 14-2 1st NCAA Second Round
2020-2021 Bob Amsberry 13-3 6-2 T-2nd Postseason not held; COVID-19
2021-2022 Bob Amsberry 21-6 13-3 2nd NCAA First Round
2022–2023 Bob Amsberry 23-7 15-1 1st NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2023–2024 Bob Amsberry 29-3 16-0 1st NCAA Final Four
Bob Amsberry: 361–132 187-75
Total: 854-424

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Current coaching staff

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  • Head coach: Bob Amsberry
  • Assistant coach: Kelli Jacobs
  • Assistant coach: Justin Little
  • Athletic trainer: Jessica Albright

[7]

Head coaching history

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As of the completion of 2024 season[8]

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1974-1975 Doug Johnson 1 12–3–0 .800
1975–1976 Marge Schaffer 1 11–11–0 .500
1976–1978 Cheryl Wren 2 29-14-0 .674
1978-1981 Nancy Schley 3 32–41–0 .438
1981-1988 Kathy Meyer Thomas 7 64–86–0 .427
1988-2006 Monica Severson 18 335–131–0 .719
2006 Kathy Franken 1† 1–7–0 .125
2006–present Bob Amsberry 18 361–132–0 .732
Totals 7 coaches 50 seasons 854-424–0 .668

† Kathy Franken served as the interim head coach for the end of the 2005–2006 season following the departure of Monica Severson.

Individual awards

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Conference Awards

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Conference Awards[9]
Year Player Type
1989-90 Kathy Smith Most Valuable Player
1991-92 Kathy Roberts Most Valuable Player
2000-01 Holly Mohs Most Valuable Player
2000-02 Holly Mohs Most Valuable Player
2010-11 Samantha Harrington Most Valuable Player
2011-12 Leslie Wilson Defensive Player of the Year
2016-17 Katie Sommer Most Valuable Player
2017-18 Katie Sommer Most Valuable Player
2018-19 Emma Gerdes Most Valuable Player
2019-20 Emma Gerdes Most Valuable Player
2022-23 Sara Faber Most Valuable Player
2023-24 Jaedon Murphy Most Valuable Player

References

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  1. ^ "Brand Guidlines Wartburg College" (PDF). Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  2. ^ "Wartburg Women's Basketball Recordbook - Women's Basketball". go-knights.net. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  3. ^ "NCAA women's basketball: Wartburg headed to Final Four, 80-74". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. 12 March 2016.
  4. ^ Petaros, Nick (16 March 2018). "NCAA women's basketball: Bowdoin ends Wartburg's storybook season (PICTURES)". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.
  5. ^ Nelson, Jim (March 14, 2024). "College Women's Basketball: Wartburg College loses in OT in D3 National Semifinal". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Women's Basketball". Wartburg College Athletics.
  7. ^ "Women's Basketball Coaches".
  8. ^ "Wartburg Knights Women's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Wartburg Knights. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  9. ^ "Conference Awards - American Rivers Conference".
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