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Classy catalyst
Sieler a natural leader without the fanfare
Edited for length....Part one
CHRIS SOLARI
csolari@argusleader.com
Article Published: 02/12/06, 2:55 am
BROOKINGS - After all the years she's spent in the shadows of some of South Dakota State's greatest women's basketball players, it's kind of hard to imagine Heather Sieler taking center stage.
That time comes in late July, when the Huron native trades her jersey and shorts for a wedding dress and marries longtime boyfriend Ryan Goehner in their hometown. Until then, Sieler has passed the wedding planning to her mother so the point guard can concentrate on her senior season as a Jackrabbit.
"I just call Heather and run stuff by her. She's like, 'Yeah, that sounds good,' " Janet Sieler said laughing. "She doesn't sweat the small stuff."
It's strange to see Heather Sieler on the receiving end of an assist for once, mainly because she's been so adept at handing them out in her college career.
The quick-handed 5-foot-7 Sieler has played alongside the top three scorers in school history - Shannon Schlagel, Melissa Pater and Brenda Davis - and often been relegated to a secondary spotlight.
But while Pater and Schlagel and Davis were scoring all the points, it was Sieler who provided all the little things that turned the women's basketball program into first a Division II national champion and then a trailblazer at the Division I level. She has been the defensive catalyst and served as the Jackrabbits' on-court glue, fearlessly flying all over and directing the offense with the poise of a general.
"She's the type of person that holds everybody else accountable, but not in a way that gets you down," current teammate Megan Vogel said of Sieler. "If you're not getting it done, she'll let you know. You want to do well because you don't want to let her down."
Called a natural leader by current and former teammates, Sieler has started 117 of 118 games since arriving at SDSU (missing one start but playing in that contest while sick). That stretch includes all 35 contests her freshman year during the Jacks' 2002-03 run to the Division II national championship.
"Heather's been a fantastic competitor," SDSU coach Aaron Johnston said. "She's going to be missed."
Leader since Day 1
Sieler's ability to give up the ball links her to the school's most prolific scorers. Her 424 assists are the seventh-most all-time at SDSU with seven games still left in her college career.
Lately, Sieler has picked up her offensive pace and become SDSU's secondary scoring option behind 1,000-point scorer Megan Vogel.
After going 11-for-16 on 3-pointers in two games last week, including a career-high 20 points against North Dakota State, Sieler earned Division I Independent Player of the Week honors. She has moved into sixth all-time at SDSU behind the arc with 147 triples and needs 70 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau .
For her career, Sieler is averaging a steady 7.9 points per game.
"She's always been someone you know about," Johnston said. "But she never has been someone to carry the same type of media attention of a Shannon Schlagel, or Melissa Pater, or Megan Vogel, because she hasn't been that standout 20-a-game scorer."
Classy catalyst
Sieler a natural leader without the fanfare
Edited for length....Part one
CHRIS SOLARI
csolari@argusleader.com
Article Published: 02/12/06, 2:55 am
BROOKINGS - After all the years she's spent in the shadows of some of South Dakota State's greatest women's basketball players, it's kind of hard to imagine Heather Sieler taking center stage.
That time comes in late July, when the Huron native trades her jersey and shorts for a wedding dress and marries longtime boyfriend Ryan Goehner in their hometown. Until then, Sieler has passed the wedding planning to her mother so the point guard can concentrate on her senior season as a Jackrabbit.
"I just call Heather and run stuff by her. She's like, 'Yeah, that sounds good,' " Janet Sieler said laughing. "She doesn't sweat the small stuff."
It's strange to see Heather Sieler on the receiving end of an assist for once, mainly because she's been so adept at handing them out in her college career.
The quick-handed 5-foot-7 Sieler has played alongside the top three scorers in school history - Shannon Schlagel, Melissa Pater and Brenda Davis - and often been relegated to a secondary spotlight.
But while Pater and Schlagel and Davis were scoring all the points, it was Sieler who provided all the little things that turned the women's basketball program into first a Division II national champion and then a trailblazer at the Division I level. She has been the defensive catalyst and served as the Jackrabbits' on-court glue, fearlessly flying all over and directing the offense with the poise of a general.
"She's the type of person that holds everybody else accountable, but not in a way that gets you down," current teammate Megan Vogel said of Sieler. "If you're not getting it done, she'll let you know. You want to do well because you don't want to let her down."
Called a natural leader by current and former teammates, Sieler has started 117 of 118 games since arriving at SDSU (missing one start but playing in that contest while sick). That stretch includes all 35 contests her freshman year during the Jacks' 2002-03 run to the Division II national championship.
"Heather's been a fantastic competitor," SDSU coach Aaron Johnston said. "She's going to be missed."
Leader since Day 1
Sieler's ability to give up the ball links her to the school's most prolific scorers. Her 424 assists are the seventh-most all-time at SDSU with seven games still left in her college career.
Lately, Sieler has picked up her offensive pace and become SDSU's secondary scoring option behind 1,000-point scorer Megan Vogel.
After going 11-for-16 on 3-pointers in two games last week, including a career-high 20 points against North Dakota State, Sieler earned Division I Independent Player of the Week honors. She has moved into sixth all-time at SDSU behind the arc with 147 triples and needs 70 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau .
For her career, Sieler is averaging a steady 7.9 points per game.
"She's always been someone you know about," Johnston said. "But she never has been someone to carry the same type of media attention of a Shannon Schlagel, or Melissa Pater, or Megan Vogel, because she hasn't been that standout 20-a-game scorer."
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