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SDHoopsfromSDSUFan
10-31-2007, 06:27 AM
The headline should say "From", so you guys should take a few minutes to read this story, pretty interesting about a PLAYER from NORTH DAKOTA who had to get noticed five states away to PLAY basketball.





UNM Freshman Takes It Slow After Wreck

By Ken Sickenger
Journal Staff Writer
Jessica Kielpinski's welcome to New Mexico was a knockout? and not in a good way. Before the UNM women's basketball team's freshman post even started her first fall class, she and her mother, Nancy Kielpinski, were knocked unconscious in an auto accident in Albuquerque.
"My mom was driving and we basically got t-boned," Jessica said. "The other car was going like 35 or 40 (mph), so it hit us really hard. We both blacked out, so we can't remember anything after that."
Jessica suffered a concussion; Nancy's injuries were worse. They included a skull fracture, broken pelvis, collapsed lung and two broken ribs. Nancy was hospitalized for several days before her husband, Mark, was able to drive her back to the family's Mandan, N.D., home.
"The doctors didn't want her to fly because of the lung injury," Jessica said.
If there's good news for the Kielpinski family, it's that neither Nancy nor Jessica are easily derailed. Nancy still is on crutches from the August accident but is getting close to discarding them.
Jessica gets occasional headaches after particularly strenuous workouts, but she's now able to manage the six hours of strength work and two hours of team workouts the Lobos are allowed every week. Even the headaches are starting to fade, she said.
"I think (the accident) set her back, mentally and physically," UNM coach Don Flanagan said. "But Jessica comes from a family of hard workers and she's a very competitive person. In the last week I've seen a big improvement from her. I expect that'll continue now that she feels better."
The 6-foot-1 Kielpinski also expects to succeed, with some justification.
Kielpinski, who was North Dakota's Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year last season, averaged 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds in leading Mandan High to its fifth consecutive state title.
A favorable gene pool hasn't hurt Kielpinski. Mark and younger brother Bryan stand 6-8, sister Rebecca is a two-time Division II All-American at Alaska-Anchorage, and Nancy taught physical education and water aerobics before the accident.
Flanagan, however, said he thinks Kielpinski's biggest strengths are her work ethic and understanding of the game.
"She's not afraid to battle," Flanagan said, "and she's used to winning. Jessica already posts up as well as anyone we have, and she does little things like chasing down rebounds and setting screens."
Flanagan likes Kielpinski's strength and has been pleasantly surprised by her perimeter shooting touch? even if he doesn't want her to focus on offense yet.
"He keeps telling me to box out and play defense," Kielpinski said with a smile. "Any scoring I do is a bonus."
Kielpinski said she's adjusting to college basketball. Relocating from North Dakota to New Mexico is another matter, though her impression of Albuquerque has improved since August.
"I like the weather a lot better here," she said. "North Dakota goes from 107 (degrees) with high humidity to below zero with wind. It's a land of extremes. But I'm still getting used to it being so dry? and just living in a bigger city."
Kielpinski doesn't expect Division I basketball or the high-desert lifestyle to hold her back for long. After all, she's her mother's daughter.
"My mom was trying to get my brother to go on a bicycle ride with her the other day," Jessica said. "He was like, 'Mom, what will you do when you stop? You're on crutches.'
"She's just one of those people who can't sit still and needs to be busy. To some extent, I think I take after her."

BisBison
10-31-2007, 12:15 PM
Good article, the Kielpinskis are a great family. We're glad out here no one was killed in that crash. But if you are inferring that she had to go that far to get noticed, Amy did try to recruit her. As she said a week ago at a lunch in Mandan, "I died a slow death" when she signed at UNM.

westriver bison
10-31-2007, 04:00 PM
Her sister is playing at Alaska-Anchorage. She has a younger brother that is supposed to be pretty good also.

TAILG8R
10-31-2007, 04:15 PM
The Bison are definitely recruiting Mandan this year. Trust me.

SDHoopsfromSDSUFan
10-31-2007, 09:22 PM
The Bison are definitely recruiting Mandan this year. Trust me.

Well it is about time.

silkamilkamonico
11-01-2007, 02:22 AM
Well it is about time.


They've always recruited Mandan.

Big difference between recruiting a kid, and actually getting them to sign.

tony
11-01-2007, 07:36 AM
Yeah, NDSU has always recruited Mandan, including the two Kielpinski sisters, and have signed two Mandan girls that I remember.

aces1180
11-01-2007, 01:36 PM
Yeah, NDSU has always recruited Mandan, including the two Kielpinski sisters, and have signed two Mandan girls that I remember.

Mary Perrizo and Jaye Amundson...I went to high school with both of them. They each won a Miss Basketball award in 1999 and 1997 respectively.

Bison bison
11-01-2007, 09:25 PM
mandan's women's basketball program is ridiculous, and yes I meant to write women

SDHoopsfromSDSUFan
11-02-2007, 02:59 AM
Definition of ridiculous: "causing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable"...
How is Mandan ridiculous?

Bison bison
11-02-2007, 03:51 AM
! sorry for the confusion

I thought that in context the intended meaning would be obvious:

incredible, unbelievable


e.g. Freddy Coleman's pass to Brett Winkelman during the first half of last night's game was f'n ridiculous.

[this definition. although almost an antonym to the original, is increasingly common]

Jdubs21
11-02-2007, 09:08 PM
Definition of ridiculous: "causing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable"...
How is Mandan ridiculous?

it wasnt meant in that context genious....settle down

SDHoopsfromSDSUFan
11-03-2007, 07:50 AM
it wasnt meant in that context genious....settle down

Thanks, I don't think my tiny little brain could have registered that after reading the post prior to yours.

BlueBisonRock
11-07-2007, 07:21 AM
! sorry for the confusion

I thought that in context the intended meaning would be obvious:

incredible, unbelievable

Thanks. My best friend (also an SU alum) married a Mandan Girl and, well, I was concerned with the inference.