By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
New Washburn University women’s basketball coach Lora Westling kept it brief in her introductory press conference Friday as the sixth head coach in program history in the McPherson Booster Room of Lee Arena.
“It’s a little surreal to be standing on this side of Lee Arena,” Westling said. “It’s an honor to have been selected as the next head coach at Washburn. Obviously huge, huge, shoes to fill, if that’s even possible. But (I am) looking forward to the challenge and just really thrilled to be here.”
Former Washburn standout Lora Westling was introduced Friday as the Ichabods' new women's basketball coach. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/TSN]
The former national championship-winning player for the Ichabods, then Lady Blues, was presented with her old number 42 jersey and signature headband by Athletic Director Loren Ferré when she was introduced.
A member of the women’s basketball team from 2001-05, Westling cited the people around Washburn as a big reason why the decision to come back was so easy.
The Casper, Wyoming native thanked her parents and family for coming down for the conference. She also gave thanks to the players, coaches and staff at Western Colorado where she spent the past six seasons.
Westling gave praise to previous head coach Ron McHenry, who coached Westling in her time at Washburn, as well as assistant coaches Brette Herber and Erika Lane Yoder for the culture that had been built.
“That’s a gift, sometimes you don’t always walk into that situation. So we got great players here, great players coming in, and a great foundation to build from so I am very grateful for that,” Westling said.
Westling’s playing career ended with the 2005 national championship run, one she hopes to repeat, this time on the sidelines.
“The expectations are the same,” Westling said. “We want to win championships, we want to have great people, and we want to make the community better in every way we can.”
She also hopes to add her own boost of energy to the program with new styles picked up from her most recent experiences.
“We are going to honor what he has done here and the foundation that he has laid and appreciate the championship expectations that are Washburn and now kind of energize it with some different ideas and ways to do things that haven’t been here yet,”
Several non-graduating members of the past season’s women’s basketball team were in attendance which Westling said contributed to her excitement after getting to see them work in the brief time she had been in Topeka.
“We met coach Wes yesterday, last night. And it was really nice meeting her, I'm really excited for her to come in. She sat down and talked with us and answered all of our questions,” said Abby Oliver, who will be entering her junior season next year.
Westling is experienced with all that comes with taking over as head coach of a program, this being her third stop as a head coach, but is ready to start preparations for next season.
“First and foremost is to get in here and really evaluate,” “We’ll just kind of break apart every single aspect of the program, see what’s working great, see where we need to improve and build a plan from there and establish our core values and our mission and hit the ground running.”
Westling plans to use her Washburn community and connections to help her rebuild the program while taking lessons from the past and eyes on the future. Her first official day in the role will be April 26.
