KANSAS CITY, Mo. – University of Providence women's basketball players Parker Esary and Emilee Maldonado were both named 2^nd Team All-Americans, the NAIA announced on Friday.

The award marks a pretty unique distinction for Esary – having been named an All-American every year of her career, she is now a five-time All-American. Maldonado, who was also named a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American on Wednesday, has now been named a NAIA All-American four times out of her five-year career

"I'm really thrilled for them," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "I thought the girls had a great year. I'm proud of them. They're well-deserving. It's a pretty special thing to have a four-time All-American and its unbelievable to have a five-time All-American."

Esary caps off her dominant career with her 5^th All-American award. She was named an Honorable Mention All-American her first two seasons as an Argo, before earning 2^nd Team recognition as a junior. In a Covid-shortened season last year, Esary was named a 3^rd Team All-American. She was also named a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American as a junior.

"There are no words that can really describe how special it is to be a five-time All-American," Himmelberg said. "We knew she was going to be special when we recruited her. We knew basketball-wise that she could really do something on the court. To be able to accomplish that and do something that nobody is going to be able to do is a special thing."

Esary made her presence felt on the court this season, averaging 15.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting a conference-high 59.2% from the field. She finished fourth in the Frontier Conference in both scoring and rebounding. Her play earned her a spot on the Frontier Conference 1^st Team All-Conference team for the 5^th time of her career.

Esary joined the 2,000 point club on Jan. 29 and finished just two points shy of the program's all-time career scoring record, finishing with 2,127 career points. Esary will graduate with her name all over the Argo record books, graduating with the most rebounds in program history with 1,228. She also finished her career with 43 double-doubles, one short of the all-time program record. She also has the distinction of being the third Argo to ever be named the NAIA National Player of the Week, earning the recognition after recording a career-high 39 points, including sinking the two game-winning free throws with one second left, to propel the Argos to their first regular season conference championship since the 1980-81 season.

"Any time we needed a basket Parker was able to do that for us," Himmelberg said. "If we needed a rebound she'd go grab it. She's one of the most reliable kids that I've ever met. She's one of the greatest of all time at being able to do that. It was really fun to have been able to coach her."

Maldonado caps off a brilliant career as well as she was named an NAIA All-American for the fourth time of her career. She was named a 2^nd Team All-American her sophomore season, a 3^rd Team All-American her junior season and became the first Argo to ever to be named a 1^st Team All-American last season. On Wednesday she also became a WCWA Honorable Mention All-American, a year after being named a 1^st Team All-American by the organization.

"It's a special thing," Himmelberg said. "She's a special player overall. She runs the offense and handles so much pressure for us. She's definitely one of the greatest players of all time for us. She could always get us a basket and made so many clutch shots down the stretch. She always takes care of it at the end of the game. She's just a special player."

Maldonado had a career year for the Argos, averaging a team-high 17.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game. She shot 42.5% from the floor and an astounding 42.1% from the three-point line. She finished second in the conference in assists, and third in scoring and three-point percentage as she was named 1^st Team All-Conference for the fourth time in her career.

Maldonado is also etched on the Argo record book, breaking the program record for career assists (669) in the team's final game of the season against Talladega. She finished third in career steals at 223, and joined Esary in the 2,000 point club on Feb. 5. She finished her career ranked third on the all-time scoring list with 2,113 career points.  

"Teams don't press us because we have her," Himmelberg said. "Our opponent's defensive strategy a lot of the time around was taking away Emilee. Everyone else is game planning against her and trying to stop her at all times and she's still putting up productive numbers. It shows what the coaches in our league think of her. We know she's special. It was a pretty cool situation to be able to coach a kid like that."

The recognition puts a bow on one of the most dominant dynamic duos in NAIA history. The duo will graduate with the most wins in program history at 94 and led the team to the NAIA National Tournament in each of their five seasons. 

"I think they are the best 1-5 combination to play together their whole careers in the history of the Frontier," Himmelberg. "They are both 2,000 point scorers, the amount of times they were named All-Americans, the amount of games they won, taking us to the National Tournament every year of their career – it's just a unique situation. I've been blessed to be able to coach two great players for five years together. Those kids are just special kids."

"As a coach I couldn't be more proud," he said. "I'm proud of them leading the way. They came in and did everything that we asked of them. They have so many accomplishments throughout their time here. We have a lot of special memories. It's a pretty special thing."