Few come close to or surpass the impact an individual has had on any one program. Sara Heitkamp Dick has her name strewn all over the Capital Women's Basketball record books and honor roll lists, leading to her induction.
Heitkamp has established herself as one of the most dominant point guards in CU history, feeding into a long line of program success. She began her run toward Player of the Year and All-America status as a freshman when she put forth an all-conference effort behind 11.1 points per game (255 points), a .509 field goal shooting percentage, 3.7 rebounds per game (85 rebounds), 62 steals, 57 assists, and eight blocks. That set the tone for Cap's ascent for the next three years.
In 2003-04, Heitkamp led the Crusaders to the first of six consecutive 20-win seasons. She put forth shooting percentages north of 40 percent from both areas and watched her rebounds and points per game sail in the same direction. Capital won 15 conference games that season. Heitkamp set the single-season record for steals with 116 swipes. She finished the season as a First Team All-OAC honoree, which fed into her Second Team D3Hoops.com All-Great Lakes Region selection.
As a junior the following year, Heitkamp rattled off another 20-win season and played its way into the OAC Tournament Championship before falling just short. That did not stop Heitkamp from putting forth her best year to date. The OAC took special notice of her 18.9 points per game (491 points), 5.9 rebounds per game (153 rebounds), 92 steals, 108 assists, and 49 percent success rate from the field. All of this led her to be named the Helen Ludwig OAC Player of the Year for the first time in her career and later to the D3Hoops.com Team of the Year. To highlight a superior year, she was also nominated and selected to the DIII News All-America Team.
Heitkamp saved the best for last. Her senior year witnessed her ascent in the CU record books with numbers that continued to surpass her previous marks. Now a regular in the national rankings landing as high as No. 10 in Division III, Heitkamp and the Crusaders surpassed the 25-win mark, won the program's eighth OAC Tournament title, then went on to play in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, which was hosted at The Capital Center. She set career highs in all the major categories: points (549, 18.3), rebounds (183, 6.1), and assists (109), while serving up a still-impressive 99 steals, and a field goal shooting percentage just above 50 percent. With national attention looming around the program, it is no surprise that Heitkamp had a major haul of postseason awards following the close of the 2005-06 season. She claimed her third First Team All-Conference honor, was named OAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, and represented CU as the Clyde Lamb Award recipient. Heitkamp was then named an All-American by three different organizations. She was named First Team All-America by the WBCA and DIII News, and to D3Hoops.com's fourth team.
Heitkamp is Capital's all-time leader in steals (369), second in points scored (1,732), and third in assists (366). She graduated seventh in rebounds (615) and still resides in the Cap top-10 in that category.
As impressive as her on-court accomplishments are, Heitkamp personified the term "student-athlete" exceptionally well. She was a three-time Academic All-OAC pick, which set the baseline for much of what was to come. In 2004, 2005, and 2006 she was selected as a CoSIDA Academic All-District pick which put her in the running for Academic All-America status. In 2005 and 2006, she earned the title of Academic All-American by CoSIDA.
