Hamline senior center Mary Wilkowski was named MIAC Player of the Year on Monday.

Wilkowski, Hamline's all-time leading scorer, led the conference in scoring (21.3 points per game) and was second in rebounding (8.9 per game), field-goal percentage (.560) and minutes per game (35.9). She completed a Pipers sweep of MIAC top player honors; Carl Hipp won the award for men's basketball.

Wilkowski recently was named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy, honoring the most outstanding women's basketball player in Division III, for the second season in a row.

She also was named all- conference for the fourth time.

Macalester's Ellen Thompson was named MIAC Coach of the Year for the second time after guiding the Scots to a 10-16 record and a berth in the conference playoffs.

NSIC rivals meet again NSIC regular-season men's champion Minnesota State Mankato will get a chance to avenge its conference tournament loss right away.

The Mavericks (24-4) earned the right to play host to the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament. They start play against eighth-seeded Winona State at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Warriors (20-9), NCAA champions in 2006 and '08 and the runner-up in 2007, beat Minnesota State Mankato 84-72 in the NSIC tournament semifinals last weekend in St. Paul.

"We are extremely excited about this opportunity," MSU coach Matt Margenthaler said Sunday night after the NCAA field was announced. "Obviously we have some unfinished business against the Warriors."

Both teams are playing in their seventh consecutive NCAA tournaments. Winona State earned the invitation by winning the NSIC tournament final Sunday, beating St. Cloud State 58-41.

Winona State won the NSIC tourney without top scorer Anthony Tucker, the former Minnetonka High School standout suspended indefinitely following an arrest Feb. 28.

• Fort Lewis will play host to the women's Central Region tournament in Durango, Colo., with NSIC schools making up half the eight-team field. Colorado Christian will play NSIC regular-season champion Wayne State (Neb.) at 2 p.m. Friday, followed by conference tournament champion Winona State against Metro State at 4 p.m. NSIC rivals Concordia (St. Paul) and Northern State play at 9 p.m.