A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION,  Honoring the South Dakota State University Women's 2006-2007 Basketball Team.

     WHEREAS,  the 2006-2007 South Dakota State University Jackrabbits women's basketball team completed an outstanding season, culminating in an invitation to the Divison 1 Women's National Invitational Tournament, the NIT, where they earned a first-round bye and reached the quarterfinals with victories against Illinois State and Indiana. They finished the season with a 25-6 record, which included a 14-game winning streak, and are the first team nationally to qualify for the NIT while in the transition from Division 2 to Division 1 competition; and

     WHEREAS,  all members of the 2006-2007 SDSU women's basketball team reside within five hundred miles of SDSU and are mainly from small towns. Five team members are from South Dakota, five are from Minnesota, and three are from Wisconsin. The 2006-2007 team is coached by Head Coach Aaron Johnston and assistant coaches Laurie Melum, Jina Johansen, and Matt Stamerjohn. Team members include Andrea Verdegan, Nicole Helsper, Alison Anderson, Ketty Cornemann, Morgan Meier, Stacie Oistad, Megan Vogel, Abby Kratovil, Maria Boever, Ashlea Muckenhirn, Jennifer Warkenthien, Courtney Grimsrud, and Laura Nielsen; and

     WHEREAS,  the 2006-2007 SDSU women's basketball team led the nation in academic performance by a Division 1 team. The team played before record crowds at Frost arena in Brookings for the Illinois State and Indiana games. In addition, Coach Aaron Johnston was named Division 1 Independent Coach of the Year, Megan Vogel was named to the Division 1 Independent first team, and Courtney Grimsrud was named Division 1 Independent Defensive Player of the Year:

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED,  by the Eighty-second Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that the 2006-2007 South Dakota State University women's basketball team, coaches, and staff be congratulated and honored for their accomplishments on and off the court and for their outstanding representation of their state and their university.