Penke and Bass Named All-Conference
UHSP's Ella Penke and Nicole Bass have been named 2nd-Team All-Conference for the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HEART) 2026 Women's Lacrosse season. The four-year-old Eutectic women's lacrosse program recently completed its second year in the Heart of America Conference, finishing with a record of 3-9 overall and 2-4 in the Conference. Both Penke and Bass are first-time honorees for women's lacrosse in the HEART. Penke received 1st-Team All-Conference honors as a freshman in the now defunct Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) in 2024.
Junior attacker Ella Penke led the Eutectic team and ranked 14th and 15th in the Conference for goals and points, netting 26 goals and six assists this season. After three seasons, she now holds the school record for Career Points, Career Goals, and Career Assists. Penke tied the UHSP record for Single-Game Goals, held by teammate Caeley Doran, scoring six goals in the Eutectics' 14-7 victory over St. Ambrose University in Iowa for the final game of the regular season. She was also a top competitor for the UHSP women's golf team, earning All-Conference honorable mention honors this spring, to become the first athlete in UHSP history to earn All-Conference honors in two different sports other than cross country/track and field.
Sophomore defender Nicole Bass opened the season with five ground balls in the 15-5 Eutectic win over Madonna University. She closed out the season with four ground balls and three caused turnovers in the Eutectics' 11-8 loss to Culver-Stockton in the first round of the HEART tournament. Bass finished the season with 15 caused turnovers to lead the Eutectics and rank sixth in the Conference. She also contributed 26 ground balls, ranking 18th in the Conference.
The HEART's All-Conference 1st- and 2nd-Teams were composed of 30 individual players from six different teams. Penke and Bass were each one of five individuals selected for their positions of Attack and Defense on the 2nd-Team.