A coach who has spent the last four years at OCU won his 100th game this weekend.
Bo Overton, head coach of women’s basketball, led the Stars to victory against Langston University on Saturday, with an 82-42 win.
This marks the 100th game won by the team while coached by Overton.
“We got off to a real good start. We played well in the first half,” Overton said. “We just took care of our business and got out of there with a win.”
Overton said, because of OCU’s numerous athletic accomplishments, he considers his to be less impressive.
“We have softball coaches that have won over a thousand games. We have baseball coaches that are in halls of fame of 1,000 games, and we have a golf coach that’s won five national championships,” he said. “To me, I just don’t think a hundred games is that big a deal. I told them, ‘maybe when we get to 500, let’s talk about it,’ but 100 is kind of where we’re supposed to be.”
Overton said his players are good athletes and good people.
“The four years I’ve been here, I’ve really had good players that not only take care of their business on the court, but are great students, great people, and I think that combination has led to winning so quickly here,” he said. “Of course you’ve got to be good basketball players, but they’re great people, great teammates, they’re great on campus. So, I think when you combine all of that with the way that they can play basketball, they solve problems on the floor very fast, and I think that’s what gets them a lot of wins.”
Junior Forward Brennyn Seagler said this combination is greatly due to Overton’s leadership.
“Coach Overton truly cares about all of his players,” she said. “He not only helps you on the court to become a better player, he helps you become a better person off the court as well.”
Senior Forward Taylor Lacour said Overton’s knowledge of the players is an asset.
“He really knows the game and his players,” she said. “He assesses each of our strengths and comes up with plays and defenses that highlight them.”
Overton said Megan Patel, assistant women’s basketball coach, contributes greatly to the team’s success.
“I’ve got a great assistant coach, Megan Patel, who does a lot of the work behind the scenes and who really makes it to where I just got to make sure I get the team to the game on time, and we’re going to be alright,” he said.
Lacour said Overton is one of the best coaches she’s ever had.
“He really understands and fights for us on and off the court,” she said.
Athletic Director Jim Abbott said he and the rest of the athletics department admire the work of Overton and the team.
“We’re awfully proud of the work he and the girls have done,” Abbott said.
Overton said having younger and older players on the team contributes to success.
“We have two seniors, but we also have a lot of young players that could play significant minutes,” he said. “We have good players that’ll be back next year. We have a sophomore, Payton Taylor, who’s a really good player. We have two freshmen that lead us in scoring, so I think the future looks good.”
Overton said he looks forward to when the team accomplishes even higher numbers than 100 wins.
“We’re going to keep working, keep getting great players and great people here and maybe someday I can say I’ve won a thousand,” he said.
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