Women’s Basketball Coach Laurie Kelly Announced As NAU Athletics Hall Of Famer

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Arizona University Athletics announced the members of the 2018 NAU Athletics Hall of Fame class last week and Gustavus head women’s basketball coach Laurie Kelly will enter this year’s class as coach of the 2005-06 Big Sky Championship team. Kelly and her former team will be honored on Friday, Sept. 21 at the High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff.

The 2005-06 NAU women’s basketball team is the first, and only to date, team in program history to win the Big Sky Championship and appear in the NCAA Tournament. The team tied a school record with 22 wins that season, finishing with a 22-11 record (9-5 in Big Sky). It also set school records for best home record (12-1), most home wins (12), most neutral wins (5) and home wins to start a season (12). The team won the Big Sky Tournament as the No. 3 seed defeating Portland State, Montana, and Weber State before falling to No. 3 seed Baylor (74-56) in NAU’s only NCAA Tournament appearance to date. Its 2,206 points scored set a school record at the time, as were its 1,226 rebounds. It also still holds school season records for field goals made (840) and assists (550). The team ranked top-40 nationally in assists (14th), field goal percentage (24th) and blocks (39th), and featured four of the school’s 16 1,000-point scorers (Alyssa Wahl, 2nd; Sade Cunningham, 6th; Kim Winkfield, 11th; Megan Porter, 13th). Nicky Eason and Alyssa Wahl were named all-conference that season and were joined by Kim Winkfield on All-Tournament team (Wahl was tournament MVP).  The team was led by head coach Laurie Kelly.

“This a tremendous group that personifies what it means to be a Lumberjack,” Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Marlow said.  “The NAU family is thrilled to have this class as the next addition to the Hall of Fame and each inductee is well deserving of this tremendous honor after cementing their legacy in Lumberjack athletic history with their historic accomplishments and contributions both on and off the field.”

The Northern Arizona University Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 1981 to honor those persons who have made outstanding contributions to NAU Athletics.

NAU Athletics Release