March 18, 2005
Release courtesy of Nick Huber, Buena Vista University sports information director

STORM LAKE, IOWA . . . Russell Athletic and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) have selected Coach Janet Berry of Buena Vista University as the 2005 Russell Athletic/WBCA Division III Region Eight Coach of the Year. The Beavers recently ended the 2004-05 season with a 25-3 overall record and claimed their second straight Iowa Conference Championship after having posted a 16-0 mark in conference play.

Berry's squad was consistently ranked in the top 25 all season long and was the top rated team in the NCAA West Region at the end of the regular season. At one point this year, Buena Vista won a school-record 23 straight games. Berry registered her 200th career coaching victory on January 14, against the University of Dubuque. Her all-time record now stands at 214-126 for a winning percentage of .629.

The Beavers became just the second Iowa Conference women’s basketball team to go unbeaten in conference play. The regular season conference title is Buena Vista’s fifth since 1992-93, the most of any conference school during that span.

Russell Athletic and the WBCA recognize coaches of the year from each of the nation's eight regions. Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as an amateur sport for women and girls.

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