Courtesy UNI Athletics Communications –
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – University of Northern Iowa women’s basketball head coach Tanya Warren has been named the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, it was announced today by league officials.
This is Warren’s second-career MVC Coach of the Year recognition after also winning the award in 2011. The Panthers finished the 2013-14 regular season with an overall record of 17-12, placing third in conference play with a record of 13-5.
“I am extremely honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award from my colleagues and the media,” Warren said. “This is truly a staff award. I am blessed to be surrounded by outstanding individuals who dedicate their hearts daily to help UNI women’s basketball be the best we can be.”
It marks the fifth season in a row in Warren’s seven years at the helm that UNI has finished with 17 or more wins. Warren led the Panthers to a 13-5 conference record this season, tying for the second-most MVC wins in school history.
Warren has coached five different all-conference selections, including 2014 first team honoree Jen Keitel. She was also at the helm to see Jacqui Kalin become a two-time MVC Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Without a senior on this year’s roster, the Panthers have battled through this season with a constant sense of leadership coming from Warren. Not only does she stress hard work on the court, but also off the court with UNI posting the seventh-best GPA in the country last season and the highest fall 2013 team GPA at UNI. She has accumulated 121 wins in her seven years as head coach at UNI.
In the past five years, the Panthers have finished in the top-half of the MVC with this year’s young squad having a shot at a share of the regular season title. Warren and the Panthers will kick-off the 2014 MVC Tournament on Friday, March 14.
