By AJ Nelson, WHoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 8 WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Pivot Analysis. These coaches are now eligible to receive the WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by Pivot Analysis which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2019-20 college basketball season.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
Previous weekly winners can be found below this week’s recipients.
The Week 9 winners are:
NCAA DI: Kim Mulkey – Baylor University
Coach Mulkey’s Lady Bears handed top-ranked UConn their first home loss since 2013 on the way to a 2-0 week and the No.2 ranking in the latest AP Poll. Baylor, ranked sixth in the country at the time, headed to Storrs on Thursday looking to snap the Huskies 98-game home winning streak. A 19-6 fourth quarter in favor of the Lady Bears secured a 74-58 victory, ending the streak and marking UConn’s first loss of the season. The impressive win came just over a year after Baylor ended UConn’s streak of 126 consecutive regular season victories with a 68-57 triumph at home on January 3rd, 2019. The Lady Bears were back in action on Sunday, dominating Oklahoma State 94-48 for their 47th consecutive home win and 43rd straight regular season Big 12 victory. Now 13-1 (2-0 Big 12) on the season, Baylor will take on Kansas at the Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
NCAA DII: Reid Takatsuka – Hawai’i Pacific University
Coach Takatsuka guided Hawai’i Pacific to three more wins this week, extending their winning streak to 10. On Monday, the Sharks, ranked No. 14 in the WBCA Coaches’ Poll at the time, held off a late run to defeat Point Loma 69-64. After improving to No. 11 in the latest poll, Hawai’i Pacific led wire to wire in a 68-59 victory over Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday night. The Sharks closed out the week with a record-setting 115-83 triumph over Dominican on Saturday. Among the five program records broken were most points in a game as well as most points in a quarter (45 in the 2nd quarter). Hawai’i Pacific is now 14-1 (9-0 PacWest) on the season, and will finish their homestand on Thursday against Chaminade.NCAA DIII: Jon Herbrechtsmeyer – Bethel University (MN)
Bethel, led by Coach Herbrechtsmeyer, took down two top-25 opponents this week to remain unbeaten. The 23rd ranked Royals first took on No. 11 Augsburg on the road on Wednesday. Despite trailing by nine after the first quarter, Bethel led by one at the half and withstood a fourth quarter run to come away with a 74-70 victory. They returned home on Saturday to take on No. 17 Gustavus Adolphus, who entered the matchup also undefeated in conference play. The Royals took an impressive 74-58 victory to move to 13-0 (8-0 MIAC) on the season, one win shy of the program’s longest winning streak. Bethel will attempt to tie the record when they take on St. Olaf at home on Wednesday.
NAIA: Sue Syljebeck – Siena Heights University (MI)
No. 19 Siena Heights and Coach Syljebeck picked up two big wins this week to improve to 17-1 on the season. The Saints opened the week with a non-conference match-up against Calumet St. Joseph, coming away with a dominant 82-46 triumph. They returned to conference play on Saturday, taking on 25th ranked Lawrence Tech. The Saints were down by three entering the fourth quarter, but used a huge final 10 minutes to take an 87-76 victory and remain unbeaten in conference play. The 9-0 start in WHAC play is the program’s first ever. Siena Heights is back in action on Wednesday, when they travel to take on Rochester.
JUCO: Brian Ortmeier – Laramie County Community College (WY)
Coach Ortmeier’s squad opened Region XI North play with two victories this week, including one over a ranked opponent. The Golden Eagles defeated Northwest College 77-73 in a tightly contested game on Tuesday before returning home to take on No. 18 Casper College. Laramie County used a 22-12 second quarter to pull away and eventually take a 74-64 victory. The win marked the fifth straight for the Golden Eagles. Now 13-5 on the season, Laramie County hits the road again on Thursday to face off against Central Wyoming.
2019-20 HoopDirt.com / Pivot Analysis Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
NCAA DII: Justin Payne – Georgia Southwestern State University
NCAA DIII: Melissa Kuberka – St. John Fisher College (NY)
NAIA: Courtney Boyd – Clarke University (IA)
JUCO: Bart Walker – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Dawn Plitzuweit – University of South Dakota
NCAA DII: Lynsey Warren – Ohio Dominican University
NCAA DIII: Kristina Baugh – UMass-Boston
NAIA: Dan Waldeck – The Master’s University (CA)
JUCO: Mark Leszczyk – Massasoit Community College (MA)
NCAA DI: Karl Smesko – Florida Gulf Coast University
NCAA DII: Steve Gomez – Lubbock Christian University
NCAA DIII: Meg Barber – New Your University
NAIA: Jeff Hans – Thomas More University (KY)
JUCO: Cayla Petree – South Plains College (TX)
NCAA DI: Bethann Shapiro Ord – Binghamton University
NCAA DII: Molly Miller – Drury University (MO)
NCAA DIII: Andy Yosinoff – Emmanuel College (MA)
NAIA: Steve Williamson – William Penn University (IA)
JUCO: Kim Muhl – Kirkwood Community College (IA)
NCAA DI: Gary Blair – Texas A&M University
NCAA DII: Missy Traversi – Adelphi University (NY)
NCAA DIII: Mahogany Green – Hamilton College (NY)
NAIA: K.C. Bassett – Sterling College (KS)
JUCO: Stephanie Murphy – Coahoma Community College (MS)
NCAA DI: Karen Alston – University of Texas
NCAA DII: Deandra Schirmer – Valdosta State University (GA)
NCAA DIII: Nick DiPillo – University of Scranton (PA)
NAIA: Tim Hays – Southeastern University (FL)
JUCO: Marcilina Grayer – Salt Lake Community College (UT)
NCAA DI: Rebecca Tillett – Longwood University
NCAA DII: DII Winter Break Week – No Winner
NCAA DIII: Jill Pace – Tufts University (MA)
NAIA: Dennis Hutter – Mayville State University (ND)
JUCO: Mike Seney – Community College of Baltimore County – Essex
NCAA DI: Quentin Hillsman – Syracuse University
NCAA DII: Jason Burton – Texas A&M University – Commerce
NCAA DIII: G.P. Gromacki – Amherst College (MA)
NAIA: Hannah Moeller – Mid-American Christian University (OK)
JUCO: Mary “Roonie” Scovel – Gulf Coast State College (FL)
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