By AJ Nelson, WHoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 15 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 15 winners are:
NCAA DI: Denise Dillon – Drexel University
Coach Dillon led Drexel to two more wins this week, extending the Dragons’ winning streak to 13. On Friday, Drexel moved to 5-0 in overtime games on the season as they needed an extra period to defeat William & Mary 84-74. In their next contest, the Dragons 15th ranked scoring defense held Elon to just 13 first half points on the way to a dominant 66-47 victory. These two wins improved Drexel to 20-6 (13-1 CAA) on the season, and their 13-game winning streak is the third longest in program history. The Dragons will look to continue their domination of the CAA on Friday when they hit the road to face off against James Madison.
NCAA DII: Kaleena Coleman – Clayton State University (GA)
Coach Coleman’s squad extended their winning streak to eight with two closely contested road victories this week. The Lakers opened the week at Columbus State on Wednesday, taking a 77-72 victory to grab sole possession of third place in the PBC. Clayton State was back on the road on Saturday, as they faced off against USC Aiken. Trailing by six almost halfway through the fourth quarter, the Lakers used an 11-0 run to take the lead and eventually come away with a hard-fought 68-66 triumph. Now 17-9 (13-5 PBC) on the season, Clayton State will look to make it nine straight in their final road contest of the regular season – a matchup with Flagler on Saturday.NCAA DIII: Chaia Huff – Edgewood College (WI)
Coach Huff guided Edgewood to two important wins to close out the regular season this week. A 77-55 victory over Concordia Wisconsin on Wednesday marked the Eagles’ 22nd win of the season, setting a new program record and clinching the No. 2 seed in the NACC Tournament. Edgewood played their final regular season game on Saturday, rebounding from a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 45-43 home victory over Wisconsin Lutheran – their first victory over the visitors in 17 games. The Eagles head into postseason play with a record of 23-2 (18-2 NACC) and riding a 10-game winning streak. They will host a semifinal matchup on Friday night.
NAIA: Anna Kowalski – West Virginia University Institute of Technology
With another victory this week, Coach Kowalski’s squad finished out the regular season unbeaten in conference play. The 24th ranked Golden Bears took down Rio Grande 77-74 on Saturday to head into the RSC Tournament having won 18 straight games. With a record of 24-6 (16-0 RSC), WVU Tech won the regular season conference title for the second straight year. Their No. 24 ranking in the most recent NAIA DII Poll is the program’s best ranking in recent history. The Golden Bears will face off against IU-Kokomo in an RSC quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday evening.
JUCO: Ornette Gardenhire – Lakeland Community College (OH)
Coach Gardenhire’s Lady Lakers came away with two hard-fought victories to extend their winning streak to 23 heading into the final contest of the regular season. On Wednesday, Cuyahoga Community College gave No. 14 Lakeland the biggest challenge of their winning streak, forcing two overtimes before the Lady Lakers finally pulled away for a 97-90 triumph. Lakeland returned home to take on Sinclair Community College on Saturday. The Lakers trailed by three at the half, but used a 20-4 third quarter to gain control and eventually come away with an 88-77 victory. Now 24-1 (11-0 OCCAC) on the season, Lakeland will travel to take on Edison Community College in the regular season finale on Saturday.
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)
NCAA DI: Kim Mulkey – Baylor University
NCAA DII: Reid Takatsuka – Hawaii Pacific University
NCAA DIII: Jon Herbrechtsmeyer – Bethel University (MN)
NAIA: Sue Syljebeck – Siena Heights University (MI)
JUCO: Brian Ortmeier – Laramie County Community College (WY)
NCAA DI: Kelly Graves – University of Oregon
NCAA DII: James Rice – Benedict College (SC)
NCAA DIII: Jennifer Reimer – Case Western Reserve University (OH)
NAIA: Bo Overton – Oklahoma City University
JUCO: Dave Kragel – Walters State Community College (TN)
NCAA DI: Brenda Frese – University of Maryland
NCAA DII: Darrell Mosley – Lincoln University (PA)
NCAA DIII: Grahm Smith – William Peach University (NC)
NAIA: Jina Douglas – Hastings College (NE)
JUCO: Stacey Franklin – Chattanooga State Community College
NCAA DI: Raegan Pebley – TCU
NCAA DII: Kim Sgtephens – Glenville State College (WVa)
NCAA DIII: Trent Milby – Berea College (KY)
NAIA: Tory Wooley – Point University (GA)
JUCO: Derek Marchione – SUNY Sullivan
NCAA DI: Heather Oesterle – Central Michigan University
NCAA DII: AnnMarie Gilbert – Virginia Union University
NCAA DIII: Cameron Hill – Trinity University (TX)
NAIA: Irvin Jerry – Trinity International University (IL)
JUCO: Jay Hanley – Bristol Community College (RI)
NCAA DI: Jaida Williams – Coastal Carolina University
NCAA DII: Ryan McCarthy – University of Alaska Anchorage
NCAA DIII: Kim Wagers – Concordia College (MN)
NAIA: Stacy Stephens – Our Lady of the Lake University (TX)
JUCO: Marvin Evans – Howard Community College (MD)
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