GRAND FORKS — The first year at the University of North Dakota for Mataeya Mathern has come and gone, and the Edgeley, North Dakota, native spent that time growing both on and off the court.
“Obviously, when you’re a freshman, everything’s new, you’re learning the new ropes of what college basketball is like and at this level,” Mathern said. “I feel like overall my knowledge of the sport has improved, … everything improves and I’m excited for what’s to come because now that I got this first year under my belt, I know whats to be expected and I … get into a rhythm of it and the speed of the game is a big thing, you’re constantly playing with girls that push you. I feel like you get better as you practice with them every day.”
This season, the former Edgeley/Kulm-Montpelier standout played in 20 games, scoring a total of 15 points while grabbing 15 total rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“I feel like whatever role I was given I was happy with and that kinda fluctuated throughout the season,” Mathern said. “But I feel like that they assigned me to hold some of the better players on the other team to lower number of points and I feel like I did that well. I feel like also just being a good teammate was something I could bring whether I was in the game or not and I brought that as well.”
While her role changed during the season, Mathern said she took an approach of being prepared and doing her job to the best of her abilities in order to play well when her name was called.
Mathern’s first career points came against Valparaiso (Indiana) on Nov. 30.
“It was exciting, my teammates were obviously my biggest supporters there, they were hyping me up,” Mathern said about her first career bucket. “It was fun, it was exciting, I’ll remember that forever.”
Mathern and the Fighting Hawks finished the year at 12-19 overall.
“I feel like we had a pretty good season,” Mathern said. “… We won some games, we lost some games. Just enjoying the whole process of it is what’s important.”
Mathern was recruited by multiple schools, including Mayville State University (North Dakota) and their then-head coach Dennis Hutter. After the 2023-24 season, Hutter left the Comets and joined Mallory Bernhard’s staff at UND as the associate head coach. On March 24, the school announced that Bernhard was resigning and Hutter was promoted to head coach. Mathern said she found out about Bernhard stepping down in a meeting after the season ended.
“My relationship was good with him. I really enjoyed his values, his philosophies and how he coached,” Mathern said. “I feel like it’s (the relationship) growing. He was our associate head coach throughout the season last year, and he ran our offense. I knew how he went about things. Obviously, some things have changed now with him being the head coach but I really enjoy him being our coach.”
Mathern said she had to get used to the transition from playing basketball at the Class B level to the NCAA Division I. She said the game is faster at the higher level and she has to prioritize her nutrition, her time in the weight room and her recovery more than she did in high school.
Throughout her four years as a standout basketball player for Edgeley/Kulm-Montpelier, she immediately jumped into practice for the track-and-field team once the basketball season was over. However, once the Fighting Hawks’ season ended, she was still practicing basketball.
“I feel like in high school I was always busy with a sport because I was in volleyball, basketball, all the extracurriculars that I could be in,” Mathern said. “So I feel like the busyness has been the same but now it’s just more focused all into basketball. Everything I do is focused on getting me ready for the season or how to become the best basketball player instead of focusing on other aspects of my life … It’s nice to focus on one thing but don’t get me wrong I do miss volleyball and the other sports and things I was involved in in high school.”
As of May 13, the Fighting Hawks are not graduating any players but they are losing eight players to the transfer portal and they have added six new players in the transfer portal. This upcoming season, Mathern will be one of seven guards on the roster.
Mathern said returning everybody from this year’s roster and adding experienced players from the portal continues to add to the leadership in the locker room.
“I don’t exactly know what my role is going to be on the team next year,” Mathern said. “I just know that I gotta put in the work this summer until next season. … He (Hutter) did bring in a lot of guards and our game we like to shoot the three ball so I guess I gotta improve on that so it can fit that play style. I also feel like it depends on what they see our type of play as, with the new people we have, how that’s gonna go. Whatever my role is I’m gonna be happy with doing.”
This summer, Mathern said she wants to improve every part of her game with an emphasis on her shooting.
After school wrapped up, Mathern has been spending time back in Edgeley but she said she will be back in Grand Forks in early June to work a kids’ camp that the team is putting on and then going through offseason workouts.
“It really helps grow our connections as a team and the bonding that we get this summer is always good,” Mathern said. “I feel like that is honestly one of the most important things, is the relationships that you create with your teammates and coaches because when you have those built that sets you up for success on the court.”
Off the court, the nursing major said she is participating in Bible study groups on campus, spending time with her friends and studying. She said she wanted to go into nursing because she likes caring for and helping others. She said her favorite classes she took during her freshman year were anatomy and theater.