Feb. 13, 2006

By Dawn Harmon, NAIA Sports Information

ORANGE CITY, Iowa - Northwestern College (Iowa) sophomore Deb Remmerde lived up to the challenge this morning by hitting 580 of 585 free throws during a live remote for "The Early Show" on CBS.  Tucked away in those 580 foul shots were 256 consectutive makes.

Flanked by more than 600 supporters, Remmerde arrived at the gym at 4:15 a.m. (Central) for the challenge.  With the tally being kept on the gym's scoreboard for all to see, Remmerde set her mind to the task.  The first foul shot hit the bottom of the net at approximately 6:15 a.m.  Less than two hours later, she showed the nation that she is legit.

This season,  Remmerde garnered the national spotlight by hitting 133 consecutive free throws; 22 games without missing from the charity stripe.   The streak is the longest in organized basketball history.  She has made 485 in a row during practice.

"I've been shooting free throws for as long as I remember," said Remmerde.  "I have been playing orgainzed basketball since fourth or fifth grade."

Naturally, Remmerde leads the NAIA in free-throw percentage with a scorching .979 (148-for-152).  She is currently third in all of collegiate basketball for season free-throw percentage behind Suzy Carlson of NCAA DII Rose-Hulman (N.Y.) at 98% (100-for-102) and Josh Alvarodo of NJCAA DIII Connecticut-Avery Point at 100%.  Alvarodo has only shot 66 free throws.

"She has a great work ethic," said Northwestern head coach Earl Woudstra. "Her ability to focus really makes her stand out and hit her free throws."

Remmerde is averaging 31 points per game, coming off perhaps the most successful week of her career.  In addition to setting the record for consecutive foul shots, she poured in 43 points against University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) on February 6 and followed two days later with 40 points against Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.).  Saturday's game capped her week as she went for 39 points against Midland Lutheran College (Neb.).

With the spotlight still burning, Remmerde and Northwestern, ranked #4 in the country, return to action Wednesday, February 15 against Great Plains Athletic Conference rival and No. 7-ranked Morningside College (Iowa).

Watch the video from today's broadcast - http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/13/earlyshow/leisure/main1310741.shtml