After a 6-week process to find the new leader of the Williston State Women’s Basketball program, former Teton Kia Herbel has been named the Head Coach of the Tetons. She was previously the head coach of United Tribes Technical College this last year.
Athletic Director Dan Artamenko states: “It is with great excitement to announce that Kia will be rejoining the Teton family. Kia will be able to connect with both the community and with recruits and we are excited about the direction she will lead us.”
In her 1st year as Head Coach, Herbel was able to accomplish great things with United Tribes. She was able to win 18 games on the year and did so with only 6 players on the team. Highlights of the season include two wins over Williston State, winning both the Region and District Championships, and qualifying for the NJCAA National Tournament. With an 86-81 win over Southeast Community College in the District F Championship, Herbel’s team advanced on to the NJCAA National Championship Tournament in Overland Park, Kansas. En route to these accomplishments, Herbal was named Region 13 Coach of the Year and District F Coach of the Year.
Herbel’s player development was shown with her work with freshman Terae Briggs. Briggs, from Pryor, Mont., averaged 22.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. Her play earned her 2nd-Team NJCAA All-American Honors as well as 1st-Team MonDak All-Conference. Just last week Briggs signed with NCAA Division-1 University of Nevada Wolfpack to play next season. She will have 3 years of eligibility to play for Nevada.
Prior to taking the reigns of the Thunderbird program, Herbel had served as an assistant coach for 2 years, one each at Bismarck State and at United Tribes Technical College. She returned to coaching in North Dakota after a very successful playing career here. She played two years for the Tetons under Head Coach Hunter Berg and then was named an All-American at Dickinson State under Coach Guy Fridley. Fridley described her play simply as “I think that’s the single most dominating player I’ve seen…”
After her college playing career, she played 2 seasons in Portugal for a professional team. A native of New Town, ND. Herbel stated “I am excited to be returning to the Teton family once again!”
http://wsctetons.com/news/2016/5/17/kia-herbel-named-new-teton-womens-basketball-coach.aspx
Tagged with: Kia Herbel Mon-Dak Athletic Conference Williston State
