As a player, Debbie Van Schooten was a towering presence playing in the post for the Hamline University women's basketball team. She earned All-American honors, was a MIAC Player of the Year and was named to the All-Conference team three consecutive years -- all first for the Piper women's hoop program. 
 
On Saturday, January 23, she will record another first when the Inver Grove Heights, Minn. native becomes the first Piper women's player to be placed on the school's Row of Honor. Van Schooten, a 1998 grad who was elected to the Piper Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, will join eight male players and two coaches who were inducted in ceremonies five years ago. She will be feted in halftime ceremonies as the Pipers host St. Catherine at Hutton Arena. Game time is 3:00 p.m.
 
"It is very appropriate that Debbie joins this group," said Hamline athletic director Jason Verdugo. "She stood out on the court, setting a standard for our players to aim for."
 
Van Schooten holds the MIAC record for blocked shots in a game when she swatted away 12 in a game against St. Benedict on January 27, 1997. She holds the school's all-time record for blocked shots with 287 (and for a season at 93). She is also second in career rebounds (985) and third in points (1512).
 
In addition to her basketball exploits, Van Schooten played softball at Hamline. A communications major, she later earned a teaching degree from Hamline as well. Van Schooten currently is a seventh grade English teacher at Inver Grove Heights Middle School.
 
Hamline University belongs to the NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, one of the most competitive conferences in the nation. Hamline supports 20 intercollegiate athletic teams for men and women. Find out more about Hamline athletics at www.hamline.edu/athletics.
 
Creativity and innovation in teaching and learning are the hallmark of Hamline University—home to nearly 4,500 undergraduate, graduate and law students.
 
At Hamline, students collaborate with professors invested in their success. They are challenged inside and outside of the classroom to create and apply knowledge in local and global contexts, while cultivating an ethic of civic responsibility, social justice, and inclusive leadership and service. Hamline is the top-ranked private university in its class in Minnesota, according to U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1854, Hamline also is Minnesota's first university and among the first coeducational institutions in the nation.
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