Mallory Bernhard steps down; Dennis Hutter takes over as UND women's basketball coach
Mar. 24—GRAND FORKS — Mallory Bernhard stepped down Monday as UND women's basketball coach after five seasons at the helm.
Associate head coach Dennis Hutter will take over immediately as the program's eighth head coach.
"Today, coach Bernhard informed me of her decision to step away from UND women's basketball," said UND athletic director Bill Chaves. "I know how difficult of a decision this was for her, but I know great things are in store for her moving forward. Mal poured her heart and soul into this program as a player, assistant coach and a head coach and she will be deeply missed by everyone. In addition, we were extremely fortunate to have done a recent search that yielded coach Hutter into our UND family. His many successful years as Mayville State's head coach makes him an obvious choice to take over the program."
Bernhard just completed her fifth season as the head coach at UND, finishing with a 57-87 record. Most recently, she guided UND to its first conference semifinal appearance since 2018-19 and captured victories over rivals North Dakota State and South Dakota.
Bernhard's best season at UND was the 2022-23 season, as the Hawks were 19-13 overall and 11-7 in league play to finish third in the Summit League standings before reaching the postseason for the first time since 2016-17 with a berth in the WBI.
"It is with an incredibly heavy heart that I have decided to step away from North Dakota women's basketball," said Bernhard. "I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this program for more than 15 years as both a player and a coach. I appreciate the trust Bill Chaves and Dr. Andy Armacost had in me and the support I have felt throughout, as well as to coach (Gene) Roebuck for bringing me into this program and teaching me how incredibly special this family is to be a part of. This program is in great hands, and I know this is the right thing to do for the program moving forward and that is what is most important to me."
The Hawks didn't have a senior on the roster last season, although standout Kiera Pemberton intends to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, which officially opens Tuesday.
Bernhard returned to her alma mater in 2013 as an assistant coach. She spent the 2019-20 season as interim coach following the departure of Travis Brewster before being elevated to head coach.
According to Bernhard's contract, she was signed through the 2025-26 season. She was set to make $175,000 in the final season of her deal.
Bernhard, whose maiden name is Youngblut, spent five seasons as a player at UND. She scored 1,307 career points and ranks third in career free-throw percentage (81.6), fifth in career 3-pointers made (220) and attempted (573), and 10th in career steals (175).
Hutter was honored as the NSAA Coach of the Year twice in 2014 and 2019 after leading Mayville State to regular season NSAA titles as well as taking the Comets to the NAIA National Tournament Round of 16 twice.
Prior to his time at Mayville State, Hutter was an assistant women's basketball coach at Southwest Minnesota State for three seasons and helped lead the Mustangs to an NSIC Championship in his final year with the team.
Before joining the SMSU coaching staff, Hutter began his coaching career at Centennial High School in Blaine, Minn., where he guided the team to its first conference championships, back-to-back conference titles and a 64-28 overall mark in his four years as the head coach.
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