UT Arlington women’s basketball coach Krista Gerlich announced the hiring of assistant coach Talby Justus on Wednesday.

Justus spent three years as a member of the New Mexico State Junior College coaching staff. In his first year assisting with the women’s basketball program, the Lady Thunderbirds set four new program records. In 2012 the Lady Thunderbirds went 32-5, won their first ever WJCAC Conference Championship, then went on to win one of the toughest Region tournaments in the Nation. Winning The Region 5 Tournament qualified them for the NJCAA Div. 1 National Tournament in Salina, KS.

At the National Tournament, the Lady Thunderbirds went 3-1 and finished fifth in the country. These accomplishments were new benchmarks for the rising program. In 2013 the Lady Thunderbirds split the WJCAC Conference Title and went 23-5. Justus’ combined record at NMJC is 55-10. In his final season, he helped coach the Lady Thunderbirds to their fourth-straight regional berth.

Prior to his move to the collegiate level, the Stillwater, Oklahoma native worked in the high school ranks, most recently at Ripley High School. He built the girls program at Ripley into a respected program by going 68-18 the past three seasons with a trip to the Area Tournament and two conference championships. He spent three years previous at Glencoe High School where he led that program to the first state championship in school history in 2006 and in 2007 led them to the State Runner-up. He finished his tenure at Glencoe with a record of 76-17 and led the state in points allowed per game for three straight years.

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