Lisa Pace, a former Eastern Kentucky women’s basketball player, joined the Colonel coaching staff in the summer of 2007. In addition to her on-the-court coaching duties, Pace will serve as the program’s recruiting coordinator.
Pace is no stranger to success, as she was a part of three Ohio Valley Conference championship teams while playing at Eastern Kentucky, including the 1996-97 Colonel team that finished 24-6 (16-2 OVC) and earned the program’s first ever berth to the NCAA Tournament.
She added two more OVC titles while spending the last seven years as an assistant coach at Southeast Missouri State, helping lead the Redhawks to back-to-back OVC titles in 2006 and 2007 and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
At Southeast Missouri, Pace served as the team’s recruiting coordinator, signing numerous All-OVC honorees, including the 2005 OVC Player of the Year, Tatiana Conceicao. Eight of her former players are currently playing professional basketball overseas. Pace was responsible for signing Lachelle Lyles, the nation’s leading rebounder during the 2006-07 campaign. Lyles grabbed 32 boards in one game that season, and was invited to the WNBA’s pre-draft camp. She recently signed a professional contract with Sweden’s Lulea Basket. In addition, Pace signed Sonya Daughtery, the all-time leading scorer in Saint Louis girl’s prep school basketball history and Nadia Mossong, a member of the Luxembourg National Team.
In addition to her coaching duties, Pace directed the Redhawk Basketball Camps, which grew in participation each year under her watch. She was instrumental in the development of the program’s booster club, “The Team Behind the Team” and “Rowdy’s Lil’ Rascals” children’s program. She is also involved in raising money for cancer research.
While finishing her bachelor of science degree in physical education, Pace spent one season at Model Laboratory School in Richmond. She served as the assistant coach for the high school team and the head coach for the middle school squad, before rejoining the Lady Colonels as a graduate assistant coach for the 1999-2000 season. Pace earned her master’s degree in sports administration from Eastern Kentucky in 2000 after completing an internship with the University of Tennessee women’s basketball program. At Tennessee, Pace assisted in the coordination of the Lady Vols summer camps and also got an opportunity to observe firsthand one of the top recruiting programs in the nation.
A four-year letter winner for the Lady Colonels, Pace ranks fourth in program history with 131 career three-point field goals.
