July 8, 2003
NORFOLK, VA - Old Dominion women's basketball head coach, Wendy Larry, has added former USA Basketball assistant coach and Ohio State All-American Nikita Lowry to her staff as announced this afternoon.
"We are very excited about attracting someone with the outstanding basketball knowledge and the experiences Niki has had both as a player and coach at the Division I and international levels," said Larry, who begin her 17th season with the Lady Monarchs. "Her personality and her contacts, both nationally and internationally, will be a tremendous addition to thisstaff."
Lowry, an All-American and Hall of Fame Member of Ohio State women's basketball team, comes to Old Dominion with vast coaching and playing experience, including head coaching stints at New Mexico State and Detroit Mercy as well as assistant coaching positions at New Mexico State, Ohio State, and Michigan.
Internationally, Lowry has been active with USA Basketball both as a coach and a player. In 2002, she was an assistant with the U.S. 20-and-Under squad that won the gold medal at the COPABA Young Women's World Championships in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. During her collegiate days, Lowry was a member of two USA Select Teams (1988 & 1990), the World University Team (1989), and the Junior National Team (1987).
Beginning her coaching career with the University of Michigan in 1991, Lowry spent two seasons as a member of the Wolverine coaching staff before returning to her alma matter, Ohio State, for a three year stint in 1993. While on the sidelines the Buckeyes posted a combined record of 52-40, which culminated with a 21-13 record in 1995-96 and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Lowry took over the reigns of the Detroit Mercy program in 1996, coaching the Titans to two Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) titles and the school's first-ever NCAA appearance in 1997. In all, Lowry coached 10 All Mid-West Collegiate Continent Conference athletes at Detriot Mercy, as well as 20 honor students.
Following her three-year stint at Detroit Mercy, Lowry spent three seasons at New Mexico State as both an assistant and head coach. As an assistant, Lowry served as the Aggies recruiting coordinator and worked closely with the post players. In her first season as head coach at NewMexico State, her team set an NCAA record for most three-point field goals in a game (21), ranked second nationally with a 8.4 three-point field goal average, and set a New Mexico State record shooting 76.3 percent from the free throw line. Additionally, the Aggies earned the most wins since 1995-96 seasons.
As a player, Lowry was a four-year letterwinner for Ohio State from 1985-1989 where she helped lead the Buckeyes to four NCAA Tournament appearances. During her senior campaign she was named a Kodak and Street & Smith All-American, the Big Ten Player of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, and was a unanimous all-conference selection. During her final season she led OSU to a 24-6 overall record and a 16-2 mark in Big Ten play as well as a share of the Big Ten Championship. Additionally, Lowery led the league in field goal percentage, steals, and tied for the lead in rebounding as a junior and became the first Buckeye women's player to average over 20 points per game since 1979. Most recently, in 2000, Lowry was inducted into Ohio State's Hall of Fame and in 2002, she was named to the Buckeye's All-Century Team.
Following her collegiate career, Lowry spent a year abroad playing for the Italmeco Bari Club in Bari, Italy. Lowry will officially start at ODU on July 10. She replaces Stacy Himes on the Lady Monarch staff, who resigned in June.