Sjerven keeps getting better, and now we know why

When Hannah Sjerven comes back next season, as she plans to do for the additional year of eligibility the NCAA is granting student-athletes, she will be working on her second Master’s degree.

That’s a whole big pile of education to carry along with everything else she’ll have with her that she did not have when she showed up on campus in 2017 after spending her freshman season at the University of New Mexico.

Measure it however you want. Go by the number of degrees she’ll have, the number of friends she’s made, the games she’s won, the points she’s scored, the rebounds she’s grabbed or the shots she’s blocked.

Whatever metric you use, she’s coming out way ahead on the deal in her estimation.

“I have benefited so much from my time at USD,” said the former Rogers (Minn.) High School standout. “To be in college six years, it sounds a little crazy when I think about it, but it has meant so much. I’ve grown as a player, as a leader and as a person. This school has given me a future career and connections I couldn’t imagine. If I come back for another year, it would only add to those benefits.”

Sjerven is an athletic 6-foot-3 center who steadily added to her on-court tool box as she has moved along in USD coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s program.

She sat out that first year as a Division I transfer and has since done nothing but confirm the early promise. As a sophomore – her first year of eligibility as a Coyote – she averaged 11.8 points and 5.9 rebounds, earning the Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year award and several additional recognitions.

She averaged 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and two blocks a year ago with a Summit League Defensive Player of the Year award in addition to being first-team All-Summit and the Summit League Tournament MVP.

To date in 2020-21, she’s averaging 16.8 points and 10 rebounds a game with a .545 shooting percentage for the 12-5, 8-2 Coyotes, who will be facing Oral Roberts this Saturday and Sunday at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

“She’s become a player who makes a huge impact on both ends of the court,” Plitzuweit said. “Teams have to pay attention to her. She’s excellent defensively and every year she’s continued to improve on the offensive end. She’s getting a lot of attention from other defenses, and when she doesn’t, she’s getting great opportunities to score.”

What else do you need to know? She loves dogs, for one thing. She’s going to have two psychology degrees by the end of this school year and she’d someday like to be a sports psychologist.

That’s the plan for now, anyway. As an athlete she’s had to deal with adversity that has given her some insight into the mental challenges involved in competing at a high level. It’s fun and it’s great winning a lot of games, but it’s not easy and it doesn’t come without learning how to deal with disappointment.

“I had to deal with a lot in New Mexico that first year that really changed me,” she said. “I want to be able to help people get through the same kinds of things I went through.”

Sjerven left Minnesota for New Mexico at age 17. It was a much higher level of basketball and she was a long way from home.

“I definitely wasn’t ready for it,” she said. “I really feel like there should be a way where we can prepare young people a little better for experiences like that.”

The craft of being a good teammate can include things like passing the ball and setting picks and staying enthusiastic. And, for some players, it can involve making sure to recognize contributions of players who don’t see the court so often.

Sjerven spent that first year never seeing the court at all, so she has some background in how it all works for those who are still waiting their turn to contribute.

A year ago, Allison Peplowski was redshirting and in charge of making things difficult for Sjerven. It was a process throughout the season. At the end of it, Sjerven was winning just about every postseason Summit League award in sight. And she didn’t forget.

“Hannah credited Allison for all she’d done to make her better,” Plitzuweit said. “Then this year, we don’t have the guys to help us practice and we were going to open the year against South Carolina, the No. 1 team in the country. Hannah would be matching up with Aliyah Boston, projected to be the No. 1 player in the country at that spot.”

This time the reserve helping prepare Sjerven was Aspen Williston, a 6-4 transfer from Oklahoma in her first season with the Coyotes.

“Hannah played really well against Boston,” Plitzuweit said. “After the game she walked up to Aspen and thanked her for getting her ready. Hannah is all about winning and being successful and doing the right things, but she also understands how important her teammates are."

It’s one thing to enjoy a great career. It’s another thing to appreciate all the people who have been involved in sustaining it. It seems like Sjerven has that part of it down pat.

“I have been part of an amazing culture,” Sjerven said. “Even though you might only get to be on the team with some of your teammates one or two years, those people will impact your life for the rest of your life. When you’re on a basketball team like this you’re part of a family. You might not talk to them every day but you know they’re always going to be there for you. That’s something a lot of people don’t have.”