Jensen, Cowgirls ready for WNIT
Oklahoma State All-Big 12 forward Kaylee Jensen talked with The Oklahoman about the Cowgirls’ expectations for the WNIT, which starts Thursday night in Stillwater when OSU takes on Abilene Christian.
The Abilene Christian women’s basketball program gathered with fans on its West Texas campus Monday to celebrate a Southland coconference championship and to await the announcement of its WNIT opener opponent.
For its head coach, Julie Goodenough, the bracket reveal was a blast from the past.
She needs no introduction for longtime followers of Oklahoma State women’s hoops.
When ACU takes the floor Thursday against OSU for a 7 p.m. tip-off in the first round of the WNIT, Goodenough will be back inside Gallagher-Iba Arena for the first time since the completion of a three-season stint as head coach for the Cowgirls (2002-05).
Goodenough arrived in Stillwater after nine seasons at Division-III Hardin-Simmons, also located in Abilene, Texas, where her 188 career wins was a program record. She told reporters during a 2002 introductory press conference, “Obviously, it is a big step up. But I’m excited about it. I know there will be some challenges. But we’re ready for those.”
The transition to the Big 12, though, was rocky at best.
The Cowgirls won eight total games in Goodenough’s first season, and just eight once more the following year.
Frustration reached its peak following the 2004-05 season when OSU reached only seven victories — the Cowgirls’ worst season in 24 years. That March, then OSU athletic director Harry Birdwell lauded Goodenough for her character, but said, “after a frank discussion, she concluded it was in her best interests, and her family’s best interests, that she resign.”
That decision didn’t come without some criticism. Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale and Nebraska coach Connie Yori both said publicly that Goodenough deserved more time in turning the program around.
“It was great playing for her,” OSU senior Nina Stone told The Oklahoman in 2005. “I love her to death as a person.”
More than a decade later, however, Goodenough’s coaching reputation has undoubtedly been restored. Entering Thursday’s game against her former school, Goodenough has tallied 104 victories in five seasons with ACU — including consecutive 20-win seasons the past two years as the program transitioned from Division-II to Division-I.
ACU rewarded Goodenough’s success with a contract extension last March that keeps her in Abilene through the 20192020 season.
“I wanted this contract for Julie because of the incredible job she’s done and because I wanted to secure our program’s future,” ACU athletic director Lee De Leon said. “She’s a perfect fit for ACU and for our department and for what we’re doing. I know a lot of jobs will be opening up across the country, but I wanted to make sure we sent a strong message that Julie is offlimits to other schools who might be thinking about going after her.
“I want her to be the face of our program for years to come.”