NJCAA All-American Amber Stevahn finishing basketball career at Minot State
MINOT, N.D. (BVM) — On June 25, the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NDAPSSA) named Amber Stevahn the North Dakota College Female Athlete of the Year.
Amber Stevahn of @BSCMystics stopped by so the NDSPSSA could present her with the College Female Athlete of the Year award. The @NJCAA All-American is heading to @MSUBeavers it’s a social distance presentation pic.twitter.com/espSm50esa
— Lee TImmerman KFYRTV (@ltimmerman25) July 9, 2020
This was a big honor considering the NDAPSSA looks at all female college athletes in North Dakota at all collegiate levels. She earned the honor after an amazing sophomore season with the Bismarck State College (BSC) women’s basketball team.
In her second season as a Mystic, Stevahn averaged 25.1 points and scored a total of 803 points. She was second in the nation in both those categories. She was also one of only 10 to be named a first team All-American at the NJCAA Division I level.
Stevahn, like others in the junior college ranks, were sought out by some of the best NCAA Division I programs in the nation. With ample options for where to play her last two years of college ball, Stevahn chose to attend Minot State University, an NCAA Division II school about an hour and a half from Bismarck.
“I know how lucky we got, we really did,” said Mark Graupe, the Minot State head women’s basketball coach. “She had options.”
Going into college, Stevahn was not really recruited out of Shiloh Christian High School.
“Amber was second team all-state but really flew under the radar in high school,” Graupe said.
She wanted to continue her basketball career, but didn’t want to be too far from her home. It was because of this that she chose to go to BSC. By doing that, she could continue playing basketball and live at home her freshman year.
“It ended up being the best decision I ever made,” Stevahn said. “I’m so glad that I chose to go to BSC.”
As a freshman, Stevahn took the country by storm. She led the nation in points per game (24.7) and was fourth in total scoring (716 points). She was also an honorable mention for the NJCAA All-American team.
“She really started turning heads her freshman year in college,” Graupe said. “She sure grabbed my attention her first year.”
That was when Graupe and other schools began recruiting Stevahn.
“It was a no-brainer going after her,” Graupe said. “You have the leading scorer in the nation just an hour and a half away.”
Being so close allowed Graupe to go to games as well as invite Stevahn to Beavers home games. Then during the summer between her freshman and sophomore year, she took a visit to Minot.
“Amber made a visit last summer and I thought it went well,” Graupe said. “Then it was just holding my breath. I just feel blessed and I feel lucky that Amber chose us.”
Graupe was right to think the trip went well. It was a huge factor in why she chose Minot State.
“I felt like I fit in,” Stevahn said. “Everyone was super nice and something just clicked. With having that feeling of home with Minot, I felt like it was an overall better fit for me.”
Stevahn’s signing was a huge win for Graupe, the program and the community. As a homegrown North Dakotan, many in the state have been following her career since high school. It means a lot that such a talented player wants to stay close to home.
“The people know her already,” Graupe said. “The community is excited.”
“It’s definitely been awesome to have people stop me in Wal-Mart or Target and anywhere they see to compliment me on my game, say that they’ve been watching me since high school and that they’re proud,” Stevahn said.
Now she’ll have the opportunity to continue making them proud as she joins nine other new Minot players who are trying to turn around the program. The Beavers finished the 2019-20 season 7-20, but with all the new players added, both Graupe and Stevahn are excited to see what the 2020-21 season has to offer.
Stevahn will also enter the season knowing that you don’t have to play on a Division I team to play at a DI level.
“It doesn’t matter what division you can still succeed and be one of the top athletes,” Stevahn said.
