Steffen accepts coaching position

A former assistant women's basketball coach at Montana State-Northern has been named the head coach at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa.

A native of Epworth, Iowa, Joan Steffen graduated from Western Dubuque High School and earned a degree at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Steffen will also serve as the college's director of intramurals, officials said.

Steffen came to Northern about two years ago as an assistant to head coach Kevin Emerick. She remained on staff when Emerick was suspended in December on the grounds that he was having a personal relationship with a student. The team later refused to play for Emerick after he was briefly reinstated during his eventually unsucessful court battle to keep his job. Steffen remained with the team for the remainder of the season under interim coach Mike Erickson.

The Skylights finished the season 20-11 and ranked 16th among NAIA Division I teams. Clarke finished 15-10 overall this past winter, and closed the season second in the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference with a 10-2 mark.