Lisa Pace joined the Panthers’ staff this summer, following successful coaching stints at Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Kentucky. She begins her ninth season as a full-time college assistant coach.
A WINNING ATTITUDE
Although new to Georgia State’s tradition of success, Pace has been both a player and assistant with other winning programs.
At Southeast Missouri, Pace assisted on the 2007 OVC Championship team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament after an undefeated OVC regular season.
That Redhawks squad duplicated the feat of the 2006 team that won the OVC title and earned the NCAA bid. This rise marked the first-ever OVC titles for Southeast Missouri.
As a player at Eastern Kentucky, Pace competed on teams that won two OVC titles and earned NCAA postseason bids. Her coach, Larry Inman, retired in 2008 after 28 years and 480 wins at EKU.
A SOLID RECRUITER
Pace was the recruiting coordinator at her previous two schools, playing a part in luring several outstanding student-athletes.
Joining her alma mater EKU a year ago in April, Pace quickly went to work recruiting two JUCO prospects to sign with the Lady Colonels. Both juniors played all 28 games for EKU and should excel this season.
In seven years at Southeast Missouri State, 11 of their former recruits capped solid playing careers by signing professional contracts to play overseas.
Pace recruited the 2005 OVC Player of the Year. Another student-athlete was the NCAA’s leading rebounder of 2006-07, averaging 17 rebounds per game with 35 in one game. She now plays professionally in Sweden.
A third was the OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player and a fourth was an OVC preseason player of the year pick, who is currently playing overseas. Another of their Southeast Missouri State recruits played in the 2008 Olympics for New Zealand.
In 2004-05, Pace recruited the top scorer in St. Louis girls prep basketball to come to Southeast Missouri.
IN THE COMMUNITY
Pace has been a coordinator of summer basketball camps that teach the fundmentals of the game to children at each of the universities with which she has worked. She also spent the 2008 summer working internationally with a coaching clinic in Luxembourg with the FLBB (Basketball Federation of Luxembourg).
In addition, Pace has helped to promote booster programs known as “The Team Behind the Team” and “Rowdy’s Lil’ Rascals” children’s group. She has also assisted in cancer research fund-raising.
THE STUDENT-ATHLETE
At Eastern Kentucky, Pace was a four-year letterwinner for the Lady Colonels. She was a part of two OVC Championship teams, including the 1996-97 squad that posted a school-best 24-6 record (16-2 in the league) in earning the NCAA Tournament bid, the first NCAA bid in school history. That team beat Kentucky in the regular season but lost to Georgia in the NCAA Tournament.
The team followed that with a 20-8 season her senior year to repeat as OVC champs and earn a second straight bid. During her four years, she played in all 113 games as the Lady Colonels’ teams went 74-39 (.655).
Pace finished fourth in school history with 113 three-point baskets made and led the OVC in three-point percentage one year (making 52-of-131 for .397). She shot 42.6 percent outside the arc as a senior (32-of-76). Her final career numbers include 683 points, 346 rebounds, 159 assists and 107 steals.
THE LEARNING CURVE
While finishing her undergraduate degree, Pace spent one season at the Model Laboratory School in Richmond, Kentucky. She served as the assistant coach for the high school team and the head coach for the middle school, before rejoining Eastern Kentucky as a graduate assistant coach for 1999-2000.
She completed an internship as part of her master’s program with the University of Tennessee women’s basketball program under Pat Summitt. Pace assisted in the UT summer camps and saw the workings of their recruiting process.
Upon completion of her internship, Pace took a job at Fairview School in Huntsville, teaching special education and serving as head coach. In December 2000, she accepted the job at Southeast Missouri.
PERSONAL
A native of Huntsville, Tenn., Pace began her athletic career with the Scott High School Highlanders. Her teams won three District titles and advanced to the sub state tournament. Pace earned All-State recognition.
Pace won her first national championship in the fifth grade with a team that won the Junior Pro Championship.
In the eighth grade, her AAU squad won a national championship in Shreveport, La. Pace was a backcourt teammate with Kellie Jolly (Harper), who went on to be an All-America point guard on three U. of Tennessee national championship teams and is now the head coach at Western Carolina University.
Pace earned both her bachelor of science degree in physical education in 1999 and her master’s degree in sports adminstration in 2000 from Eastern Kentucky.
