Osgood native for Region 8 Coach of the Year
Coach Julie Wilhoit takes team to NCAA
Mary Margaret Moorhead - Staff Writer

When Coach Julie Wilhoit's name is mentioned in college women's basketball circles, people in the know sit up and take notice. She, along with her team, has made basketball history at Loyola Marymount University in Culver City, California.

For the first time in the school's history, the Lions of LMU captured the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship with a 61-58 win over Gonzaga in the title game at the Leavey Center on Sunday, March 6.

Most exciting of all, with the conference title the Lions won their 15th straight victory and earned the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship - another first for the Lions of Coach Wilhoit.

Last Saturday night, 13-seed LMU played 4-seed Baylor in the first round of the Midwest Region in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Although only scores and an occasional highlight of the game were telecast for viewers in this area, ESPN2 listed the halftime score as Baylor 37, LMU 25 and the final score 70-61 with Baylor advancing to the second round.

Even a loss in the NCAA can't diminish the incredible season Coach Wilhoit's Lions have had. The team record for the season was 24-5, with a 15-game winning streak that lasted for over two months.

"Defense brought us here," Coach Wilhoit was quoted. "It brought us to this point. For us to end on a defensive play sums up what our season has been about."

Wilhoit named Coach of the Year

By virtue of her successful season, Head Coach Julie Wilhoit was named Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year for Region 8, the Women's Basketball Association announced.

Wilhoit earned the coaching honor after posting one of the top turnaround seasons in the nation and leading LMU women's basketball to its first NCAA tournament appearance.

In their ninth season under Wilhoit, the Lions finished 10 games ahead of last year's record and ranked in the top 10 in the nation in season turnarounds.

Region 8 consists of teams from the Pac-10, Big West, and West Coast Conferences. Wilhoit, along with the other seven regional winners from across the country, now advances as a national finalist for the NCAA Division I Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year.

Coaches in each WBCA geographical region vote for their respective top coach for the regional award. The eight regional winners are automatically entered in the pool for the national recognition, which will be announced on Tuesday, April 6.

Information from the LMU website quoted Coach Wilhoit: "I am honored and humbled by this regional recognition. I have so much respect for all the coaches in the region, so it is quite an honor for them to acknowledge our coaching staff and program in this way."

A native of Osgood and a 1981 graduate of Jac-Cen-Del High School, Julie has enjoyed sharing her career success with her family - parents, Marlene and Ted Hughes of Osgood; brothers, Mike, Rick, Greg, Stevie, and Jason; sisters-in-law and six nieces and nephews.

Several family members were on hand to see the LMU Lions clinch their conference title at the Leavey Center on Sunday, March 6.

In December Coach Wilhoit brought her team to Osgood between scheduled games with IUPUI in Indianapolis and UC in Cincinnati. The team members and coaching staff visited Wilhoit's relatives, practiced at the Jac-Cen-Del High School gym, and had a meal at the Grub Company during their brief visit to the coach's hometown.

Elected to Marian College Hall of Fame

Another recent honor for Coach Wilhoit was her election to the Marian College Athletic Hall of Fame. A 1985 graduate of Marian, she earned her bachelor's degree in physical education and began her coaching career as an assistant at Marian.

As a player for Marian College, Wilhoit was a four-year letter winner and still holds the school's scoring record with 1,489 points. She also ranks among career leaders in steals and rebounds.

Named Most Valuable Player at Marian two years, Wilhoit earned NAIA All-District honors during her junior and senior seasons.

Wilhoit's coaching career also took her to IUPUI, where she posted a five-year record of 88 wins and 44 losses. In both 1990 and 1991, she coached her teams to 20-win seasons. A Final Four appearance in 1991 took IUPUI to the semi-finals, where they lost to Southwestern Oklahoma.

Coach Wilhoit has just completed her 16th season as a head coach with an overall record of 236 wins and 209 losses. Her nine-year record at LMU is 115-139.

Before accepting the position at Loyola Marymount, Wilhoit coached for two years at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, where her win-loss record was 33-26, including a school record of 22-11 in 1994-95.

Further information on Coach Wilhoit and the LMU Lions is available on the website: lmulions.ocsn.com and click on women's basketball.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Coach Julie Wilhoit celebrates the Loyola Marymount University women's basketball victory over Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon, March 6. The Lions won the first-ever West Coast Conference Tournament Championship, a first-ever bid to the NCAA, and Coach of the Year honors for Wilhoit. Several family members and friends from the Osgood area attended the basketball game and were present to help celebrate a history-making event.