By RYAN SCHUMAKER
Sports Editor
Northwestern Oklahoma State University has placed head women’s basketball coach Brett Vana on paid administrative lead, pending further investigation as of last week.
Steve Valencia, Vice President of University Relations, said there is no timetable on when the investigation will be completed. Coaches and players are not available for questioning until the university completes its investigation.
No clues or reasons have been provided for why Vana has been placed under suspension, and details are not expected to be released until completion of the investigation.
Valencia said that no outside agencies, including the NCAA are involved. “This is strictly an internal investigation, no outside NCAA involvement,” Valencia said.
In the 18 games under Vana this year the Rangers went 1-17, including a 0-13 record during conference play. However, the Rangers losing efforts were not without some close matches as three of those losses were by a total of six points.
Vana accepted the position of head women’s basketball coach in July 2015, after previously working as assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
Prior to his tenure at Weber State, Vana served as the head coach for Louisburg College, located in Lewisville, North Carolina, during which he captured the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division II National Championship during the 2012-2013 season.
Before Louisburg Vana served as a talent evaluator at the Champions Academy in Indianapolis, Indiana. Vana spent much of his career overseas, working in professional leagues in Switzerland, Germany and Denmark.
During the school’s investigation the women’s basketball team will be under the direction of former standout high school basketball coach Jeff Mahoney. He has spent the last 30 years coaching multiple high school teams across the state of Oklahoma.
During those years, he coached six teams to the state tournament and was also selected to coach in the Oklahoma basketball all-star games four times throughout his career.
Under Mahoney’s guidance, the Ranger women picked up their second win of the season Monday night in a 57-54 victory over Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma.
The Hillcats (11-10,6-7) are right in the middle of the pack in the Heartland Conference, making the midseason non-conference win even more impressive.
The win snapped a 19-game losing streak the Rangers had built up under Vana.
Senior Ashley Pride led the way for the Rangers tallying 16 points while junior center Kamera Bozeman provided a double-double effort with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Rangers will get back into Great American Conference play tonight against Southern Nazarene University in Percefull Fieldhouse at 5:30 p.m..
Then on Saturday, the women will head to Durant, Oklahoma to face Southern Nazarene, at 1 p.m..
Following the match up with the Crimson Storm, the Rangers will square off with arch rival Southwestern Monday at 5:30 p.m. at home in Percefull Fieldhouse.
This will be the Rangers second match up with the Bulldogs this season.
In game one earlier this season, the Bulldogs came away with a 89-50 win over the Red-and-Black at their home court in Weatherford.
Even without a conference win, the Rangers are still statistically not out of a berth in the conference tournament with seven games remaining down the stretch.
If they do in fact make it into the tournament, then the Rangers will head to Bartlesville, Oklahoma on March 3-6.