March 11, 2010
ST. LOUIS -
Illinois State head women's basketball coach Robin Pingeton was named the 2010 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the year at a ceremony Thursday at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Pingeton won the award for the second time in her seven-year career as a coach in the Valley, becoming the sixth multiple-winner in the 26-year history of the award. She also won it in 2004 after guiding ISU to its first winning season in six years. Jill Hutchison (Illinois State), Cindy Scott (Southern Illinois), Cheryl Burnett (Missouri State), Lisa Bluder (Drake) and Jim Wiedie (Indiana State) also won the award more than once.
Pingeton guided Illinois State to a 23-6 overall record in the regular season, tied for the second-most regular season wins ever. ISU won 20 games for the fourth-straight season, the longest streak in school history, and had a 15-game winning streak, the second-longest in school history.
Illinois State posted a 16-2 record in Valley play, tied with the 1988-89 season for the second-best conference record all-time. For the second time in school history, the Redbirds won the MVC Regular-Season title for a third-consecutive year (1988-90); which included the first back-to-back outright championships. The Redbirds rode a 14-game Valley winning streak, the second-longest ever, to clinch the regular-season championship in just 15 games.
Three Redbirds were named All-Valley, including the first pair of first-team selections since 1997-98.
Illinois State has received votes in the last two Associated Press Top-25 polls. The Redbirds have received votes in the AP poll in each of the last three seasons, earning the No. 24 ranking for a week in 2008.
Illinois State takes on No. 8 Indiana State in the MVC Tournament Quarterfinals Friday at 12:05 p.m.
