Ball State University Athletics
Endress Named Indiana's NCAA Woman of the Year
September 07, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Former Ball State women's basketball standout Kate Endress (Evansville, Ind./Memorial H.S.) has been named Indiana's NCAA Woman of the Year. She joins a group of 51 winners from 49 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., who were chosen by a committee of representatives from member institutions. The committee will now select 10 finalists from the list of 51 winners, who will then be candidates for the 15th annual NCAA Woman of the Year award, which will be announced during the annual awards dinner Oct. 29, in Indianapolis, Ind. The NCAA Woman of the Year recognizes outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership. The state winners include representatives from NCAA Divisions I, II and III.
Endress is the first Ball State women's basketball player and one of only five student-athletes in BSU history to be honored as Indiana's NCAA Woman of the Year. She joins Sally Northcroft (field hockey, 2000), Jen Brown (field hockey, 1998), Lisa Barg (tennis, 1996) and Lisa Hadorn (volleyball, 1994) on the elite list.
A four-year letterwinner for the Cardinals, Endress concluded her illustrious career at Ball State as an honorable mention on the 2005 Kodak/WBCA All-America Basketball Team after being selected as the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. In addition, she was selected to the All-MAC First Team for the second-straight year -- one of only two players in program history to reap first-team all-league honors duplicate times in a career. She signed a free agent contract and was later released by the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA.
A starter in all 29 contests last season, the 6-0 forward topped the league with an 18.5 scoring average. She also placed first in 3-point field goal percentage (.461), second in free throw percentage (.887) and ranked among the MAC's statistical leaders in eight categories. In the final NCAA statistics, she placed fifth in 3-point field goal percentage, seventh in free throw percentage and 29th in scoring. A four-time recipient of MAC Player of the Week honors in 2004-05, Endress totaled 26 double-figure scoring marks, six double-digit rebounding finishes and five double-doubles last season. She surpassed the 20-point plateau on 14 occasions, including a career-high 30 points March 2 against Central Michigan. She led or tied for team-high scoring honors 22 times and rebounding honors nine times. Endress was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament after leading BSU to the title of the Seton Hall Classic in the first weekend of competition.
Endress is the second woman and one of only four players -- male or female -- in Ball State history to reach the 1,800 career scoring plateau. Her 1,843 points places her No. 2 on the program's all-time scoring chart and No. 11 in MAC history. Her 1,843 points and 663 rebounds makes her one of only three players -- male or female -- in BSU annals to surpass the 1,800 point and 600-rebound milestones in a career.
Besides placing No. 2 in career scoring, Endress is also No. 1 in career field goals made (1,553), tied for first in games played (120), No. 2 in 3-point field goals made (205) and in 3-point field goals attempts (467), tied for fifth in games started (93) and No. 6 in rebounds (663) and in free throws (304). In addition, Endress finished her career as the MAC's all-time leader in 3-point field goal percentage and ranks among the league's career leaders in a total of seven categories.
Over her four-year career, Endress reached double figures in scoring 93 times, including 36 times with 20-or-more points and once more with 30 points. She accumulated 16 double-digit rebounding marks and a total of 14 double-doubles. She led BSU in scoring 48 times and in rebounding 24 times.
Endress was honored for the second-straight year with her selection to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Women's Basketball All-America First Team. She was also named the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. She graduated Summa cum Laude from BSU's Honor's College this past May with a 3.96 GPA as an entrepreneurship major. She is currently employed with Citigroup in New York City.
"We are very excited about the latest prestigious award for Kate," BSU head coach Tracy Roller said. "She is an incredible representative to the NCAA of the great athletes in the state of Indiana. Kate is the ultimate definition of ‘student-athlete' and all the ingredients that every coach would ask of their team. Her character, work ethic, and drive on and off the court would surely be many of the reasons that she was chosen as Indiana's Woman of the Year. Congratulations to Kate and her parents, Thom and Cindy. Ball State University is very proud of you."
