MSU-N's Faupel, Richards named NAIA All-American

Montana State University-Northern senior Natalee Faupel has done a lot of things no Skylight basketball player has ever done. As of Thursday, she did one more.

For the second straight season, Faupel was named an NAIA Division I First-Team All-American, and in doing so became the first Skylight to ever repeat as a First-Team All-American.

Faupel achieved the honor first as a junior, after being named the 2016 Frontier Conference Player of the Year. This season, that honor went to Lewis-Clark State's Caelyn Orlandi, but after leading the Frontier in scoring at 18 points per game, while also averaging seven rebounds per night, Faupel was once again a First-Team All-American. Faupel saved her best for last, too, as she averaged nearly 20 points and eight rebounds per game in her final eight games of her brilliant career.

The former Butte High Bulldog now leaves Northern as its all-time leading scorer with an incredible 1,829 points. In the annals of Northern basketball history, only former Lights Deon Jones and Sam Tucker scored more points in a career than Faupel did.

And for the third straight season, Faupel wasn't alone on the NAIA All-American list. Fellow senior Sierra Richards was named NAIA Honorable Mention All-American. Richards was strong in the post for the Skylights, averaging 11 points and eight rebounds per game. She finished second in the Frontier in rebounding, while totaling seven double-doubles and 18 10-plus rebound games this season.

It was also a banner year for the Frontier Conference as a whole. While LC State made it all the way to the championship game this week in Billings, 10 Frontier players earned All-American honors. Orlandi joined Faupel on the First Team, while LCSC's Brittany Tackett and UM-Western's Aneise Palmore were Second Team. Carroll College's Cassidy Hashley, UGF's Steph McDonagh, Montana Tech's Martha Dembek and Hattie Thatcher and Western's Kaye Bignell were all named Honorable Mention. Oklahoma City's Daniella Wallen was named the NAIA Player of the Year.

2017 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball All-America Teams

First Team Taleeah Cross, Sr. Freed-Hardeman; Kim Mallory, Jr., Freed-Hardeman; Caelyn Orlandi, Sr., LC State; Kayla Styles, Jr., Lindsey-Wilson; Starla Daggan, Sr., Mobile; Natalee Faupel, SR., MSU-Northern; Daniella Wallen, Sr., Oklahoma City; Jonessa Moore, Sr., Shawnee State; Claire Lamunu, Sr., Vanguard; Aysia Shellmire, Sr., Westmont.

Second Team

Kelsey Larson, Sr., Baker; Kristen Murphy, Jr., Benedictine; DeMoria White, Jr., Biola; Emily Fox, Sr., Campbellsville; DaJonee Hale, Jr., Central Methodist; Brittany Tackett, Jr., LC State; Chanel Roberts, Sr., Lindsey-Wilson; Aneise Palmore, Sr., UM-Western; Madison Ridout, Jr., Shawnee State; Bianca Cubello, Sr., The Master's.

Third Team

Shamon Pearson, Jr., Bethel; Annie Park, Sr., Biola; Kelsey Ernst, Sr., Clarke; Nicole Bowers, Sr., Cumberland; Bailey Cameron, So., John Brown; Meghan Temple, Sr., Loyola; Kourtney Pennywell, Sr., LSU-Shreveport; Kiara Moore, Sr., Lyon; Kyoko Eade, Sr., Martin Methodist; Tajanee Wells, Sr., Talladega.

Honorable Mention

Courtney Christmas, Arizona Christian; Raven Bunn, Avila; Serena Parker, Benedictine; Brandi Goodman, Bethel; Joclyn Kirton, Biola; Cassidy Hashley, Carroll; Lexi Moe, Central Methodist; Ashlee Marlatt, Columbia; Morgan Brandt, Columbia; Faith LeGate, Faulkner; Lashae Brown, Fisk; Emilee Ziese, Georgetown; Sydney Vaughn, Graceland; Maddie Westergard, Grandview; Stephanie McDonagh, Great Falls; Brionna Taylor, Harris-Stowe; Brianna Mueller, Lindenwood-Belleville; Alison Webb, Lindenwood-Belleville; Zoie Miller, Lyola; Sarai Ridriguez, Mid America-Christian; Kali Koenig, Mobile; Sierra Richards, MSU-Northern; Martha Dembek, Montana Tech; Hattie Thatcher, Montana Tech; Kaye Bignell, UM-Western; Daniela Galindo, Oklahoma City; Alyssa Ward, Our Lady of the Lake; Kelah Eldridge, Pikeville; Devin Conley, Pikeville, Dierra Ely, Science and Arts; Brandie Snow, Shawnee State; Maghan Lormand, St. Thomas; Katelynn Threats, Texas Wesleyan; Megan Lindsay, The Master's; Jade Jones, Wayland Baptist; Shawna Monreal, Wayland Baptist; Aimee Brakken, Westmont; Lauren McCoy, Westmont; Alyssa Phillips, William Penn; Jasmine Brown, William Woods.