Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, WHoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following women’s college basketball coaches have been honored with the Week 6 WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by FastBreak PlayBook. These coaches are now eligible for the prestigious WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, presented by FastBreak PlayBook, which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2024-25 college basketball season.
This year, WHoopDirt.com has partnered with FastBreak PlayBook to bring even more value to the Coach of the Week program. As part of the collaboration, each weekly winner will receive a complimentary Full-Team Annual Membership to the FastBreak PlayBook platform.
“FastBreak PlayBook is very excited to partner with WhoopDirt for the Coach of the Week Award. We are passionate about bringing a spotlight to deserving women’s basketball coaches and look forward to providing a free Full-Team Annual Membership to each winner.” – Kendall Acho, Chief Operating Officer
This marks the fifth season of WHoopDirt.com’s Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list of 2024-25 weekly winners, as well as the all-time COY recipients can be found below this week’s release.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 6 winners are:
D1: Vanessa Blair-Lewis – George Mason University
Another pair of wins this week have Coach Blair-Lewis’ squad off to its best start in program history. The Patriots began the week with an impressive 63-55 road win over Georgetown before heading home to take on Maryland – Eastern Shore on Saturday. George Mason outscored UMES 18-0 in the first quarter en route to a 61-40 victory, moving to 10-1 (1-0 A10) for the first time in program history. The Patriots will look to extend the record when they host UMBC to close out the non-conference slate on Friday.
NCAA D2: Emily Tsitouris – Mars Hill University
Coach Tsitouris’ squad won two games this week in two very different ways as the Lions improved to 8-4 on the season. On the road on Wednesday, Mars Hill trailed Limestone by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter before staging an incredible comeback to pull out a 62-60 victory in regulation. The Lions closed out the week in much less dramatic fashion, setting a school record with 45 made field goals in a dominant 108-59 win over Emory & Henry. Mars Hill will look to finish the semester on a three-game winning streak when they travel to take on Virginia-Wise on Wednesday evening.
NCAA D3: Megan Phelps – Bowdoin College
Coach Phelps led Bowdoin to two more victories this week, as the Polar Bears closed out the first semester undefeated. Then-No. 5 Bowdoin scored 30 first quarter points on the way to an 80-52 home win over Husson on Tuesday before hitting the road to take on Salem State on Thursday. The Polar Bears grabbed 20 offensive rebounds in a 71-55 victory, moving to a perfect 8-0 on the season. Bowdoin now has two weeks off before it travels down to St. Petersburg, Florida, to take on Denison on December 29.
NAIA: Alico Dunk – Stillman College
Coach Dunk guided Stillman to a pair of hard-fought victories this week, taking over first place in the HBCUAC standings. The Tigers spent the weekend in New Orleans, playing in the HBCU Athletic Conference Crossover at Dillard. They opened the Crossover on Friday with a 69-58 win over Tougaloo, jumping out to a double-digit lead early and never looking back. Stillman then faced off against Dillard the following day, using a late jumper by senior guard Hannah Boykin-Williams to pull out a 65-64 victory over the hosts. The win moved the Tigers to 10-2 (5-0 HBCUAC) on the season and put them in sole possession of first place in the conference as the semester winds down.
JUCO: Nate Beutel – SUNY Niagara
Coach Beutel picked up a milestone win this week as his Thunderwolves remained perfect on the season. Hosting the Thunderwolves Holiday Classic, No. 14 SUNY Niagara forced 37 turnovers in a 101-49 victory over Henry Ford on Friday. Back in action on Sunday, the Thunderwolves defeated Raritan Valley 75-52, marking Coach Beutel’s 300th career win. Currently in his 13th season with the program, Beutel holds an impressive record of 300-71. His Thunderwolves will look to improve to 14-0 on the season when they travel to take on Henry Ford on Friday in a rematch of last week’s matchup.
2024-25 WHoopDirt.com / FastBreak PlayBook Coach of the Week Winners
Week 1
Early season – no winners selected.
NCAA DI: Kenny Brooks – University of Kentucky
NCAA DII: Buffie Burson – University of North Georgia
NCAA DIII: Laurie Kelly – Gustavus Adolphus College
NAIA: Bill Harmsen – Dordt University
JUCO: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
NCAA DI: Geno Auriemma – UConn
NCAA DII: Danielle Fleming – PennWest Clarion
NCAA DIII: Lindsay Schultz – Carroll University
NAIA: Hannah Moeller – Mid-American Christian University
JUCO: Austin Mefford – New Mexico Junior College
NCAA DI: Kara Lawson – Duke University
NCAA DII: Rick Neumann – University of Mary
NCAA DIII: Mia Smith – Illinois Wesleyan University
NAIA: NaJarius Green – Columbia College
JUCO: John Ontjes – Hutchinson Community College
NCAA DI: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
NCAA DII: Kari Kerkhoff – McKendree University
NCAA DIII: Meg Barber – New York University
NAIA: Adam Hocking – Clarke University
JUCO: Jamie Fisher – Florida SouthWestern State College
Previous Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Kenny Brooks – Virginia Tech University
- 2021-22: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
- 2020-21: Adia Barnes – University of Arizona
- 2019-20: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Division II
- 2022-23: Kari Pickens – Ashland University
- 2021-22: Kim Stephens – Glenville State College
- 2020-21: Steve Gomez – Lubbock Christian University
- 2019-20: Molly Miller – Drury University
Division III
- 2022-23: Juli Fulks – Transylvania University
- 2021-22: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
- 2020-21: Brian Morehouse – Hope College
- 2019-20: Jill Pace – Tufts University
NAIA
- 2022-23: Courtney Boyd – Clarke University
- 2021-22: Jeff Hans – Thomas More College
- 2020-21: Kirsten Moore – Westmont College
- 2019-20: Chris Nelson – Bethel University
JUCO
- 2022-23: Mike Seney – CCBC Essex
- 2021-22: Trenia Tillis Hoard – Tyler Junior College
- 2020-21: No winner named – COVID season
- 2019-20: Cayla Petree – South Plains College
FastBreak PlayBook provides coaches with a database of plays drawn by professional and college level coaches with coaching points and player assignments. All plays are editable to fit your system or you can quickly draw your own with their custom-built play drawing tool. Additional features allow coaches to create practice schedules, scouting reports, as well as integrate and distribute video to their team directly with the mobile team app.
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