BVU Women's Basketball Banquet Celebrates Best Season in Over a Decade

Buena Vista's women's basketball program walked into its first conference tournament in nine seasons as the No. 3 seed and walked out with something it hadn't held since 2016-17: a postseason win. Players, coaches and families gathered at The Cobb on March 21 to celebrate a 17-10 season that stands as the program's best since 2009-10 and signals a genuine shift in what BVU women's basketball can be.

The Beavers' 10-6 American Rivers Conference record was built on an offensive identity that produced results unseen in Storm Lake in years. BVU led the ARC in scoring at 70.2 points per game, the first time the program had topped the conference in that category in a decade, while simultaneously leading the league in rebounding at 40.7 boards per game, its best conference rebounding finish in 11 years. From beyond the arc, the Beavers converted 173 three-pointers on 579 attempts, the eighth-most made and fifth-most attempts in program history, a volume that reflects a modern, up-tempo system built around spacing and pace. The team's 1,100 rebounds and 97 blocks both rank among the program's top historical single-season totals.

Danika Demers was at the center of much of it. The point guard recorded 112 assists this season, ninth-most in a single campaign in program history, and her 397 career assists now rank third all-time at BVU. Her 135 career steals place her 18th all-time. That combination of playmaking and defensive instincts shaped the Beavers' day-to-day rhythm and makes her a cornerstone as the program eyes what comes next.

Bradi Krager's 422 points and 204 rebounds gave BVU a physical anchor in the paint, performances that rank among the program's top single-season outputs. McKenna Cone climbed into the top 30 of career scorers with 851 career points and sits 10th all-time in three-point makes with 101. Adeeya Yanga's 40 blocks tied for sixth in BVU single-season history and pushed her to 15th on the program's all-time career blocks list.

The season's reach extended into the classroom. Demers, Krager, Emily Nothwehr and Tyme Boettcher each earned first-semester Dean's List recognition and academic all-conference honors, awarded to players who maintain a 3.5 GPA, reinforcing a program culture that demands performance in both arenas.

BVU's No. 3 seed, conference tournament win and ARC-leading scoring average give the coaching staff credible proof points as recruiting for 2026-27 begins. Graduating seniors will leave a high-water mark; the returning core, anchored by Demers heading into the final stretch of a record-chase career, will carry the weight of turning one breakthrough season into a standard.