After five years of playing together, Brooke Olson and Maesyn Thiesen are undoubtedly the spark that has helped carry the University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team into its first-ever NCAA Championship game.
The tandem, who arrived on campus in the fall of 2018, rarely get through an interview without mentioning the other, and their connection on the court rivals arguably any in the nation this season.
"Brooke and Maesyn have been two of the best leaders I have ever been around," said UMD head coach Mandy Pearson when asked about her two graduate seniors. "It has been said that great things can happen when your leaders are your hardest workers, and we have been blessed to have a super senior and a senior class of leaders who work incredibly hard. It has been really fun for me to be along for the ride with our team in their journey to the national championship game."
That ride carries a spotlight that while often brightest on Olson, doesn't exist without Thiesen. The pair have put up numbers throughout their careers that are often intertwined – Thiesen has averaged 28.7 minutes a game over her five-year career, while Olson is right on her heels with 26.5. This season, in the midst of a program record of 32-3 and the most games ever compiled by any Bulldog team in history, Thiesen is averaging a whopping 32.3 minutes a game, while Olson is up to 27.8. In NCAA Tournament games, Thiesen is averaging a mind-bending 36.4 minutes an outing, while Olson rolls in at 28.8.
On more than one occasion in the postseason, Thiesen has not left the court, including in the NCAA Final Four semifinal game against Catawba College and against Minnesota State University, Mankato in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament championship. While the Sauk Centre, Minn. product is averaging 7.5 points per game this season and 3.6 assists per game, it's her presence on the court that both calms the Bulldogs and calls them to the floor when the demand is needed.
"Maesyn is everything you would want in a point guard," said Pearson. "She is poised, intelligent, hard working, unselfish, kind, tough and most of all she is a coach on the floor. Not only is she all over the place on defense, but she is everywhere on the court communicating, teaching and encouraging her teammates. She gives those around her so much confidence in what we are doing and in themselves, she really is a true court general. It has been surreal for me to watch how confident she has become as a leader and a basketball player."
Where Thiesen ends, one could argue, Olson begins, and the national player of the year doesn't dispute it. There has not been one postgame press conference where Olson doesn't call out Thiesen in one way or another, and her constant acknowledgement of her point guard makes that abundantly clear.
"Having the opportunity to play with Maesyn these past five years has been incredible, she is one of the most motivated and determined leaders I have ever been around," said Olson. "She wills everyone on our team to win, through her court vision, work ethic, and the trust she builds with every single person on our team. She is no doubt the glue and true leader of our team, we would not be where we are if it was not for her. I credit all of our team's success, as well as my own to her; I would not be the player I am without her. I am so grateful to call her not only a teammate but a true friend I will have for the rest of my life."
Olson's success, well documented over the past two weeks by the plethora of awards she's received, helps highlight her as one of the best players ever to suit up in a UMD uniform. The Rice Lake, Wisc. native is averaging a career-best 23.1 ppg this season, but has reached another level in the NCAA tournament, averaging 29.0, ppg to go with 10.2 rebounds. It's not a coincidence that the program's second all-time career scorer (2,504 and counting) is now just four points shy of the DII NCAA Tournament's all-time single-tourney total points record. Olson is sitting at 145 points through five games, while the all-time tournament point record is 149 points, set by Johannah Leedham of Franklin Pierce in 2009.
"Brooke is incredibly talented and the most versatile player I have ever been around," said Pearson. "I say this often but she has found a way to improve as a leader and a basketball player every single year. Even to this day she walks into practice, grabs a ball and starts getting to work trying to perfect her game around the rim. Brooke is ending her Bulldog career still working every single day to get a little bit better. She is a great teammate, a fantastic leader and one of the most determined individuals I have been around. I loved watching her lead our younger post players this year. She was so encouraging and has brought so many people positive energy this year, I just love the leader and person Brooke has become, and I am so thankful that she has so much fun this year."
After five seasons with the Bulldogs, Olson and Thiesen are now synonymous with the most successful postseason run UMD has ever had in March, a connection that seems truly fitting for the pair.
"Brooke is my go to girl, and I think that our connection off of the court correlates to the connection that we have on the court," said Thiesen. "We often look at each other during a game or during practice and just know what the other one is thinking. I also know that Brooke is one of my biggest cheerleaders and I can always count on her to celebrate the success of people around her. I am very thankful that the sport of basketball has allowed Brooke and my paths to cross because through all of the ups and downs of our careers here at UMD, I have gained a lifelong friend. I think that is a win within itself!"
A win that has taken the dynamic duo and all of the Bulldogs all the way to the brightest stage in college women's basketball. Quite the win already, indeed.
