WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team was among the top NCAA Division III programs recognized when the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its 2022-23 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls on Tuesday.
 
The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and two-year college women's basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2022-23 season is the 28th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.
 
Boasting a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.761, the Cardinals ranked No. 5 in all of NCAA Division III and were one of just two from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to earn a spot in the Top 25.
 
The WBCA honor is just the latest academic accolade for the Cardinals, who boasted eight members — Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis.), Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.), Valerie Higgins (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.), Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.), Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.), Emma Miller (Eau Claire, Wis.), and Graysin Hartjes (Kaukauna, Wis.) — collected Academic All-MIAC honors, while Paulson, Streveler, Cruze, and Goettelman were among those named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® earlier this summer.