John Motherwell resigns from UND women's basketball position
May 2—GRAND FORKS — John Motherwell has resigned from his position with UND women's basketball, effective immediately.
This was Motherwell's third coaching stint in Grand Forks. He previously left the Fighting Hawks last May for an
assistant position at Central Michigan
before changing course and rejoining UND
as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator
in August.
Motherwell's resignation opens another position for Bernhard to fill this offseason. She'll have three new assistants heading into the 2024-25 season.
Former assistants Travis Bledsoe and Sabra Wimberley's contracts weren't renewed after the 2023-24 season.
One opening was filled by Dennis Hutter, who was
hired as the associate head coach at the end of March
after 19 years as head coach at Mayville State.
Motherwell has had a few stints as an assistant at UND. He first joined Gene Roebuck's staff for the 2010-11 season, alongside then-assistant and future head coach Travis Brewster. That was Bernhard's final season as a player at UND.
He returned in 2018 as an assistant on Brewster's staff, and he was retained as an associate head coach when Bernhard took over until his departure in May 2023.
Motherwell has previously coached at West Florida, Detroit Mercy, Minnesota, Valparaiso and Finlandia.
UND finished 9-21 last season, losing to Oral Roberts 91-68 in the first round of the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls.
The Hawks lose two of the team's top four scorers to graduation including Kacie Borowicz, who averaged 21.0 points per game.
UND loses three seniors and two players entered the transfer portal after the season. Freshman Darcy Jardine also transferred midseason.
The Hawks' top two returning scorers are expected to be Kiyah Hurst (12.4 points per game) and Kiera Pemberton (10.5 ppg).
South Dakota
transfer Walker Demers, a former Grafton standout, committed to UND
in the offseason.
