Paup joins Simpson basketball

One of the most versatile and productive players in Creston girls basketball history has made it official. Doryn Paup will join the Simpson College Storm women’s basketball team beginning next fall.

The Creston senior was joined by family members and coaches in signing with Simpson Tuesday afternoon in the high school commons.

Paup ranks third in Creston five-player history with 1,054 career points. Her 455 points as a senior this winter ranks second all-time, and she set a new school record in per-game scoring average (21.7). She also ranks sixth in career rebounds and second in career steals. From the field she shot 55.39% during her career, which ranks second.

At Simpson she will join another record-breaking Panther who went on to become an All-American for Simpson’s national tournament team last year. Jenna Taylor is a part-time assistant coach for the Storm. Her former roommate, Claire Johnson, is the primary assistant coach for longtime head coach Brian Niemuth.

“The assistant coach Claire Johnson had been reaching out to me for a long time, and coming to my games,” Paup explained when asked about her college choice. “I really liked that. Then I went on a campus visit and met some of the girls last November. I took a campus tour, met with financial advisors, ate lunch with four of the girls and met the coaches. It seemed like a good fit.”

The current Simpson roster also includes freshman guard Maddax DeVault of Nodaway Valley, sophomore guard Haley Rasmussen of Atlantic and freshman Claire Schmitz of Harlan.

Creston coach Tony Neubauer coached 2022 Simpson senior Hattie Rhodes at Nevada High School and is familiar with coach Brian Niemuth’s successful program. He said Paup’s athleticism will fit perfectly in the Storm’s system.

“She’s going to score at that level, I really believe that,” Neubauer said. “She’s a natural scorer in so many ways. In transition with kids around her, she will do well. She set our per-game scoring average record, and that was against two or three players on most nights. She’ll see single coverage in college.”

Whether it was collecting steals at the front of the team’s 1-3-1 zone defense, or playing inside like she did much of her senior campaign with a 20-rebound game, Neubauer said Paup filled whatever role was needed.

“They will get out and run, but they also run their sets,” Neubauer said. “She’ll be really well-coached and she’ll have Jenna (Taylor) as a coach, which will be neat.”

Paup said she is undecided about a major, but hopes to do some job shadowing in the medical and physical therapy fields this summer.

Last season, Simpson concluded a 16-11 season in an 88-54 loss to Loras College in the American Rivers Conference tournament. The Storm won the tournament the previous season as Taylor and Cameron Kincaid, another Simpson assistant coach, concluded their careers.

Niemuth completed his 36th season as Simpson head coach, with 665 career victories and 13 conference championships.

On Tuesday Paup was named to the Class 4A third all-state team by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association. Paup was on the Iowa Girls Coaches Association all-state third team in 2022 and the 2023 team hasn’t been announced yet. She was unanimously selected twice to the Hawkeye Ten All-Conference first team. She also was named IGCA Academic All-District and Hawkeye Ten Academic All-Conference.

Paup will play in the IGCA Senior All-Star Series in Cedar Rapids on April 1.