Newton’s Henwood to play hoops at Iowa Wesleyan

Chassidy Henwood is one of the best girls basketball players to ever don the Newton Cardinal jersey.

The numbers prove that.

And as Henwood’s career was winding down this past winter, the itch to keep playing became more real.

It happens with a lot of seniors. Especially multi-sport athletes like Henwood who don’t know what it’s like to not compete.

“I didn’t know if I was going to play sports in college. Once basketball season started to wind down, and about half way through the season, I decided I was not ready to be done playing,” Henwood said. “I was late to the recruiting process but it worked out.”

The recruiting process came down to three schools. And Henwood chose the school whose next head coach was at one of the other finalists last season.

She will take her talents to Iowa Wesleyan in the fall and compete for a Tigers program which welcomes back long-time head coach Steve Williamson.

Williamson had eight 20-win seasons at Iowa Wesleyan before taking over at William Penn. He’s back at Iowa Wesleyan this year and Henwood will join him. Henwood’s runner-up school was Mount Mercy.

“He contacted me when he was at William Penn but knew he was leaving so he didn’t do too much with me there,” Henwood said about Williamson. “As soon as he got to Iowa Wesleyan we started the communication again.”

The Cardinal standout said she had opportunities to play softball in college, too. But chose to go the route of the hardwood where she set several school records for Newton’s girls hoops program.

Before going the route of a four-year school, Henwood considered the junior college trail as she is still undecided on a major.

“They were all comparable schools. It took a lot of thinking,” Henwood said. “I feel like it’s the best fit and I really like the coach.

“I’m glad the decision is over. But I still don’t know if it’s the right school. So there’s still some nervousness to it.”

Newton girls basketball coach Eric Vander Velden likes the fit with the school that plays its home games at the 800-seat Ruble Arena in Mount Pleasant.

“With a new coach and a new place, it’s going to be the best fit for her,” Vander Velden said. “She might not be a scorer, but she always looks to pass first and if she can limit her turnovers, she’ll be a good player for them.”

Henwood said the plan is for her to play point guard at the next level. Williamson is taking some of his players at William Penn to Iowa Wesleyan, but Henwood said most of those future teammates are bigs.

“He was looking for more guards and thinks once I focus on just basketball, I can grow a lot more,” Henwood said.

Henwood played sparingly down the stretch her freshman season at Newton when Vander Velden was an assistant coach. She grabbed 4.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Vander Velden took over the program two years ago and all Henwood did under the new coaching staff was etch her name in the Cardinal record books.

As a junior, Henwood averaged 10.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 4.7 steals per game while shooting 43 percent from the floor and 57.4 percent from the free-throw line.

She improved those percentages to 48 and 65 as a senior while averaging 14 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.3 steals per game.

Henwood’s 30 point career-high ranks ninth all-time at the school.

She had two nine assist games and two eight assist games during her career and that ranks tied for first and tied for second in school history.

Henwood’s 123 assists as a junior ranks first in school history and the 94 she had this past season sits third. Henwood had 233 career assists, which is second all-time.

When it comes to rebounding, Henwood grabbed 19 boards in a game once and that ranks tied for first in school history. She’s also top 10 in rebounds in a season (170) and career rebounds (345).

Henwood is now the school’s all-time leader for steals in a career with 203. She ranks first and second for season steals with 103 and 82.

Henwood is first in single-game steals with 11 and also has single-game steals marks of 10, eight and seven.

“She is the QB on the court,” Vander Velden said. “In the games we didn’t have her, we struggled with not getting the ball up the court and in the hoop. She was a natural leader on the floor.”

Williamson’s eight 20-win seasons includes a 23-4 year. Iowa Wesleyan finished 4-20, 5-18 and 5-20 the past three seasons under the most recent and now former head coach.

The Tigers will drop back down to NAIA after spending the past few seasons at the NCAA Division III level.

Williamson was 25-7 in his most recent full season at William Penn.