NEW ULM — Minnesota Valley Lutheran junior Abbie Riederer committed to Upper Iowa University on Tuesday to play Division II women’s basketball in the 2022-23 season.

Riederer recently wrapped up her junior campaign with the Chargers averaging 21.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game in 15 games. The standout guard was also a member of the 2021 All-Journal Girls’ Basketball First Team and a unanimous selection on the Tomahawk All-Conference Girls’ Basketball Team.

After mulling over a few colleges like Minnesota State University Moorhead and the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Riederer was most drawn to the UIU Peacocks.

“They reached out to me in October, and we just had a couple conversations,” Riederer said of UIU. “We talked maybe like once every week or once every two weeks. And they asked me to have a visit down there, so over Christmas break, I went down there and then I got my offer. I loved the college right away, but I didn’t get to see inside of the buildings or anything, so then as we kept talking, I just went down there on [Tuesday], and that’s when I decided to commit. I got to see all the buildings and just had a nice conversation with the coaches.”

After putting pen to paper on Tuesday, Riederer said that she was excited for her future basketball career with UIU.

“I’m just super excited,” Riederer said. “I just fell in love with the coaching staff, and they’re just super pumped for me. I know that they’re genuine people and I know that they’re willing to make me a better player and person, so that’s something that’s really awesome to me.”

Going from high school to DII basketball is rarely ever easy for any player, and Riederer knows that she’s going to have to continue to get stronger and learn more about the game during her senior year and in upcoming offseasons.

“I’m definitely going to have to get in the weight room, obviously,” Riederer said. “There’s a lot of strong girls out there, older girls, and just learning a little bit more court knowledge, just learning the play of the game — a little bit faster. I’m kind of used to it with AAU, but it’s a whole different game, so just learning that stuff.”

Although she’s excited to start her college career, Riederer still has her senior year at MVL to look forward to. In addition to playing basketball, Riederer is also a key member on MVL’s girls’ golf team and volleyball team.

Riederer said that her main goals for her senior year of sports at MVL is to have fun, win as much as possible and be grateful for every opportunity to play.