Hinderer Signs with Cardinal Stritch

Hinderer, Harper women's basketball's second all-time leading scorer, signed with Cardinal Stritch University. (Bill Smith)

PALATINE, Ill. – Harper women's basketball player Monica Hinderer (Arlington Heights, Ill./The Willows Academy), the program's second all-time leading scorer, two-time N4C All-Conference selection, and three-time Harper Athlete of the Week will continue her collegiate basketball career in the fall. Hinderer recently signed with NAIA powerhouse Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.

The 6-foot center averaged 21.9 points per game and 14.4 rebounds per game in her sophomore campaign and scored 1,047 points in her Harper career. She joins a Cardinal Stritch program that finished 27-7 in the 2013-14 season under head coach John Pfaffl. The Wolves have won 20 or more games in 23 of the last 24 years.

"It's really rewarding getting recruited by a good program like Cardinal Stritch," Hinderer said. "They made me feel wanted and were very considerate, and it just fit everything I was looking for. I'm happy I can help make an already good team even better."

Hinderer, who was an N4C Academic All-Conference athlete in her time at Harper and will major in psychology, found Cardinal Stritch to be the right fit also because of their strong psychology department and the fact that her parents could come to games. She also liked that the school offered both athletic and academic money.

While her stats stood out, Pfaffl was immediately drawn to Hinderer as a basketball player because of her leadership and energy she brought to the court. He also said that the program recruits high character kids over just plain ability.

"We focus on building person over player, and I think she'll be a great fit and addition to our family," Pfaffl said.

Hinderer is ready to take the next step in her college basketball journey, but she will miss a couple of things about being a Hawk.

"I'll miss the quality of the people I met and the coaches," she said. "I'll miss my teammates' positive attitudes despite things not going our way this past year."