Former Bulldog Honored by NSIC

From UMD comes news of a former UMD women's basketball standout who will be inducted into the Northern Sun Conference Hall of Fame next month.

Very cool news.

Denise Holm, a standout in the University of Minnesota Duluth basketball backcourt during the late 1980s, will join seven other enshrinees on July 14 when the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame holds its 2010 induction ceremonies. The event will take place at the Best Western Kelly Inn in St. Cloud, Minn.

The class of 2011 also includes Susan Alstrom (Bemidji State University), Manny Beckman (Minnesota State University-Mankato), Scott Dubbelde, (Southwest Minnesota State University), Elise (Olsgaard) Erickson (Minnesota State University-Moorhead), Dan Hagen (St. Cloud State University), Stephanie (Hengel) Popelar (Northern State University), and Elisabeth (Morgan) Shannon (Winona State University).

Holm was an All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and All-NAIA District 13 first team honoree as both a junior and senior and exited the UMD program as its all-time leader in assists (813), steals (236) and games played (118). The Duluth, Minn., native captained UMD to a pair of NAIA National Tournament berths (1987-88 and 1988-89) and one NSC title (1988-89) while handling a starting point guard role for three seasons. During her farewell collegiate go-around in 1988-89, she topped the NCAA Division II ranks with a school-record 291 assists (9.1 per game) in addition to establishing a team single-game mark for assists (13) on two different occasions. The co-winner of the 1988-89 UMD Outstanding Senior Female Athlete award, Holm went on to serve as the head girls' basketball coach at Duluth Central High School for five years and Duluth East High School, her alma mater, for another seven seasons. She was a two-time Region 8AAAA/Region 7AAA Coach of the Year while at Duluth East High School and, in 2004, became a member of the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame.