Judy Spoelstra Named Pac-10 Coach of the Year
March 13, 2000
Corvallis, Ore. - Oregon State University women's basketball Head Coach Judy Spoelstra has been named the 1999-2000 Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year, it was announced Sunday, March 12 by league commissioner Tom Hansen.
Spoelstra guided the Beavers to a 14-16 overall record, and 10-8 mark in the conference. Oregon State tied for fifth-place with Southern California, its highest showing since a second-place finish in Spoelstra's first season in 1995-96.
"I'm really excited about the honor, it's nice to recognized by your peers," Spoelstra said. "The honor reflects just how well this team performed the second half of the season - it's really a team honor."
Spoelstra's team was one of the top defensive clubs in the nation, and led the Pac-10 Conference for points allowed at 61.0. The Beavers also were first in the conference for rebounding margin (+5.7), field goal percentage defense (.389), and blocked shots (4.9). In addition, Oregon State broke a conference record by allowing just 33 points to California in a Feb. 10 victory over the Bears.
"We had a great group of student-athletes this year, and we have a nice nucleus returning next year," Spoelstra added. "We do have a some big shoes to fill with the graduation of Sissel (Pierce) and Reda (Petraitis), we need to have their replacements have a great offseason and come into next year as polished players."
The Coach of the Year honor is her second of her career. Spoelstra was honored by the Big Sky Conference in 1993 while at Montana State University.
