NIACC's Spotts selected as ICCAC player of year
- Spotts is 1st NIACC player of year since Mendez in 2020
- NIACC's Vaught earns league's coach of year
- Trojans' Seifert is league's newcomer of the year
MASON CITY - The NIACC women's basketball team is getting rewarded for its successful season.
Three of the four individual awards handed out by NJCAA Region 11 were awarded to the Trojans.
NIACC sophomore Reggi Spotts was selected as the region's player of the year. Spotts is the Trojans' first regional player of the year since Autam Mendez won the award in the 2019-20 season.
NIACC's Mandy Willems was also the league's player of the year in the 2018-19 season.
NIACC's sixth-year coach Brad Vaught was named the league's coach of the year. The last time a NIACC coach was the regional coach of the year was Todd Ciochetto in the 2019-20 season.
And NIACC freshman Ciara Seifert was the region's newcomer of the year and she was also selected the the all-region defensive team.
The region's defensive player of the year was Marshalltown's Kenijae Cherry.
Spotts and Seifert earned first-team all-region honors.
NIACC freshman Zaria Falls was a second-team all-region pick and freshman Peyton Meincke was a third-team all-region selection.
Spotts, who was a first-team all-region selection as a freshman, is averaging 18.4 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists per game and 2.8 steals per game. Spotts connected on 68 3-point goals, which is tied for first in the ICCAC.
Spotts has 996 career points heading into next week's NJCAA Division II national tournament in Hickory, N.C. The 996 career points ranks fifth on the school's all-time career scoring list.
Spotts, who prepped at Mason City High, also has 116 career 3-point goals (6th on school's career list), 383 rebounds (14th on school's career list), 172 assists (14th on school's career list) and 179 steals (5th on school's career list).
Seifert, who is from Rochester, Minn., is averaging 11.5 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game. Seifert, a 6-2 forward, recorded 15 double/doubles this season, including a 13 point/12 rebound performance against Northeast CC in the regional title game on March 2.
Seifert, who collected a career-high 22 rebounds against Northeast CC on Jan. 17, has 332 rebounds this season, which is tied for fifth on the school's all-time single season list. Seifert also collected 36 steals and blocked 36 shots.
Vaught led the Trojans to an overall mark of 27-3 and a record of 19-3 in the ICCAC. The Trojans claimed the NJCAA Region 11-B title with a 69-55 win over Northeast CC on March 2 in the NIACC gym.
The 27 wins by the Trojans is the most in the Vaught era and the most since the 2019-20 team was 32-1.
Falls, who prepped at Mason City, is averaging 10.2 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game. Falls also has 54 steals and 23 blocked shots.
Meincke, who is from Lake City, Minn., is averaging 8.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She also has 45 assists, 31 steals and nine blocked shots.
No. 11 NIACC will find out its seed and opponent for the NJCAA Division II national tournament at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The national tournament in Hickory, N.C. is set for March 16-21. The Trojans qualified for the national tournament for the first time since 2020.
