April 10, 2002
Store courtesy: UND Media Relations
Grand Forks, ND – University of North Dakota women's basketball coach Gene Roebuck announced today that Cara Demaine, Jami Glick, Amy Mahlum and Dana Olimb have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Sioux next season. Wednesday was the first day of the national signing (late) period for basketball. The signing period extends through May 15.
Cara Demaine, a 6-3 sophomore at UND-Lake Region, averaged 14.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while leading the Royals to a 25-9 record in 2002. Demaine, a native of Australia, was named a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American on Tuesday for the second consecutive year. She is the first UND-Lake Region player to earn all-American honors in back-to-back seasons. Demaine was also named conference and region player of the year.
"Cara will make her teammates better because she is a very unselfish, team-oriented player," Roebuck said. "She'll give us strength on the interior on the defensive end and give us the versatility of an inside/outside threat on the offensive end."
Jami Glick, a 6-0 forward from Minot High School, averaged 15.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while leading MHS to a second-place finish at last fall's North Dakota Class A State Tournament. Glick was a finalist for North Dakota Miss Basketball honors.
"Jami is a very athletic player," said Roebuck. "She'll have to make the transition from playing mainly in the post in high school to the perimeter for us, which will take some time, but her athletic ability will help us."
Amy Mahlum, a 5-2 guard from Kingsland High School in Spring Valley, MN, averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 assists and 4.2 steals per game to lead KHS to a 21-6 record this past season. Mahlum, who led Kingsland High to 20-win seasons in each of her four seasons at the varsity level, set a Minnesota state high school record this winter when she made 10 3-point field goals (in 13 attempts) on her way to a career-high 40 points in a game against Lewiston-Altura (MN).
"Amy is a true point guard who is very quick and an excellent ballhandler," Roebuck said. "I like the way she pushes the ball up the floor. Amy is a good outside shooter, but she combines that with being a good penetrator off the dribble and a creator. And I think her size will actually work to her advantage on the defensive end because of her ability to defend opposing point guards on the open floor."
Dana Olimb, a 5-8 guard from Grand Forks Central High School, averaged 14.0 points per game this season while setting a school record for assists in a season with 127. Olimb, who was also a North Dakota Miss Basketball finalist, also owns the GFCHS career assists record with 397. Also a track and field standout, Olimb will compete for the UND track and field teams as well.
"Dana is a very physical, very strong player who sees the floor well," said Roebuck. "She's got a great attitude and she'll compete very hard for us."
The four signees join Kristi Boese (BAY-see), a senior at Rochester (MN) Mayo High School, who signed with UND during November’s early signing period.
"Kristi is a very strong, physical player who can play both inside and outside," Roebuck said, "and she runs the floor well. She has a good jump shot to 3-point range and very good post skills, and on the defensive end she can guard either inside or outside.
"As a group, I like their maturity and their competitiveness. They all have a great work ethic, team-oriented attitudes and the toughness you need to compete in the North Central Conference."
North Dakota finished 24-5 last season and won both the North Central Conference regular season title and NCC Wells Fargo Finals championship before losing in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II North Central Region tournament.
North Dakota Women's Basketball Signees
Name...........Ht....Pos......School Kristi Boese...6-1...Forward..Rochester (MN) Mayo High School Cara Demaine...6-3...Center...UND-Lake Region Jami Glick.....6-0...Forward..Minot High School Amy Mahlum.....5-2...Guard....Kingsland (MN) High School Dana Olimb.....5-8...Guard....Grand Forks Central High School