Former North Dakota Miss Basketball and two-time North Dakota High School Female Athlete of the Year Hannah Stewart capped off her college career helping the University of Iowa to a Big Ten Tournament championship and a number two seed to the national tournament. Their tournament ended with an Elite Eight loss to eventual national champion Baylor. Her efforts earned Stewart the Dakota Award from the North Dakota AP Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. The award recognizes North Dakota natives who excel outside of the state.
In her senior year, Stewart, a former Bishop Ryan standout, started all 36 games for the Hawkeyes. She was third in scoring with an 11.1 average, second in rebounding at 6.7 per game, dished out 2.3 assists and had 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 56 percent from the field. She scored in double figures in 23 of the 36 games they played and was a huge complement to Megan Gustafson, the national player of the year. She was also named to the Big 10 All-Tournament team.
Stewart recently signed a professional contact with the Lakeside Lightning from North Lake, Western Australia.
Other finalists for the award included Bismarck native Britta Curl from Wisconsin hockey and LPGA professional golfer Amy Olson from Oxbow.