Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame
A remarkably consistent performer who was a member of both the CCIW's first-ever women's basketball champion and its inaugural all-conference first team, Mary Kay Herman enters the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame as the third member of Coach Diane Schumacher's 1987 senior class to be enshrined. Herman's career spanned the Lady Vikings' transition from independent to CCIW membership and when she graduated, she ranked in the program's top three all-time in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
A 5' 10" frontcourt player, Herman played her high school basketball just a few blocks up the road from Augustana at Rock Island's Alleman High School. She saw action in 18 of 22 games for Coach Paulette Stein's 13-9 Lady Vikings as a freshman in 1983-84, coming off the bench to average 5.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting .500 from the field.
Herman never missed a game during her final three seasons, during which both her scoring average and Augustana's win total improved every year.
As a sophomore on Schumacher's first Lady Viking outfit in 1984-85, Herman averaged 8.4 and 5.0 rebounds per game as Augustana started off 5-5. However, from that point on she nearly doubled those numbers to 15.3 points and 9.0 rebounds and shot .530 from the floor as Schumacher's crew won 10 of its last 14 contests. For the year, Herman led the team in field goal percentage (.490), while finishing second in scoring (12.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg), and was named the squad's Most Improved Player.
"I had the pleasure of coaching Mary Kay from 84-87. Mary Kay was a joy to coach. She worked hard and came to practice each day giving 100 % effort," said Schumacher. "She improved every game and every year to become a valuable contributor of the first CCIW championship in 87. She possessed a great attitude and "blue collar work ethic" which helped her to become a very good college player."
As a junior, Herman helped Augustana win 10 straight after a season-opening loss to climb to number 14 in the national poll. The final two of those victories came at the Aurora Invitational, where she was an all-tournament selection. Herman later averaged 20.8 points and 7.8 rebounds and converted .603 from the field to lead the team to wins in its final four games of the year. The junior led the 18-6 Lady Vikings in scoring at 13.2 points per game, field goal percentage at .508 and blocked shot with 22. Her 7.0 rebounds per game ranked second. In addition to serving as a co-captain with classmate and fellow Tribe Hall of Famer Jill Rednour, Herman collected the program's Player's Award.
Herman joined Rednour and another Hall of Famer, Rita Jett, to lead Schumacher's club to the first-ever College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championship as seniors in 1986-87. Herman was again the team leader in scoring (14.6 ppg), field goal percentage (.518) and blocked shots (25) and was second in rebounding (7.4 rpg), earning a spot on the inaugural All-CCIW first team.
The title didn't come easily. After a 65-62 loss at Wheaton on January 16, Augustana stood at 9-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference. The next night, the Lady Vikings trailed Carthage at home 57-56 with nine seconds remaining, but Herman sank a layup off an inbounds play to give Augustana a 58-57 win. The victory sparked a string of 10 straight league wins to close the season, as Herman and her teammates (13-3) edged Wheaton and Carthage by a game for the championship.
Augustana dropped a heartbreaking 55-53 decision to William Penn in the first round of the 1987 NCAA Division III Tournament, but Herman—who garnered all-tournament honors—scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting in her collegiate finale the next night as the Lady Vikings rebounded with a 70-65 consolation win over St. Thomas. They finished the year 20-7, setting a school record for victories.
When her career ended, Herman's .506 field goal percentage ranked second in program history and she was third all-time with 1,109 points and 614 rebounds. Today those figures still rank fifth, tied for seventh and seventh, respectively. She's also in the school's career top ten in blocked shots (70—seventh), scoring average (11.9—ninth) and rebound average (6.6—ninth).
"As a teammate Mary Kay was well liked and respected. She was an unselfish player as she could pass to that open player that would result in a basket," recalled Schumacher. "As a first-year coach at Augie I emphasized common sense basketball daily always passing to an open player in an advantage position on the floor."
After graduating in 1987 with a teaching degree in physical education, Mary Kay entered the University of Illinois Police Academy and eventually spent five years as a police officer with the Peoria, Illinois Park District. In 1994, she went to work for CILCO (now Ameren), where she's been for the last 26 years. She currently serves as a crew leader in the electrical warehouse.
Mary Kay resides in Peoria Heights, Illinois with her wife Diane. Herman says. "I really enjoyed my years at Augustana. I especially enjoyed playing basketball and all of the friends I gained. It is an incredible school and I am proud to say that I graduated from there."
