Wendi Wells — ‘face of Shawnee athletics’ — secures 300th win as girls basketball coach

Victories were rare for Shawnee’s girls basketball program when WNBA champion Wendi Wells joined the coaching staff.

The Wolves won a single game during the 2006-07 season. They slipped past Guthrie with a bank shot at the buzzer and celebrated with a dogpile as if they were state champions.

“It was a really hard time,” said Wells, then an assistant. “Those kids, they battled, but we just really struggled.”

These days, wins are expected for Shawnee, and the Wolves didn’t disappoint with a 51-25 rout of host Crossings Christian on Friday night.

This one had extra meaning.

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Wells, a member of Fort Cobb-Broxton’s well-known Willits family, achieved her 300th win as Shawnee’s head coach. The celebration was a little more subdued than a dogpile, but the Wolves honored Wells with commemorative T-shirts each featuring a golden “300” across the front.

Senior guard Tylyn Thurman, who led the Wolves with 20 points, wore one of the shirts after the game.

“She’s a really great coach,” Thurman said, “and she’s just a really good mentor for me.”

For the past 16 years, Wells has offered guidance to athletes passing through the Wolves’ program, and they know they’re learning from an expert. The former Wendi Willits built a storied college career at Arkansas, where she holds the program record of 316 made 3-pointers, ranking third in SEC history.

After etching her name in Razorbacks lore from 1997-2001, Wells spent a season with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Spark and won the 2001 championship.

She was coaching college basketball in Georgia when she decided to come home. Wells and her husband were expecting their first child, so she wanted to live near her family in Oklahoma.

She landed in Shawnee.

And she hasn’t left.

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“I really just felt like this was where God wanted me to be,” said Wells, whose brother Reggie is OU’s associate head baseball coach after playing and coaching in the MLB. “I really have it in my heart for these kids.”

Dax Leone is in only his second year as the Wolves’ athletic director, but the Shawnee alumnus needed no introduction to Wells. She’s Shawnee’s longest-tenured coach, and Leone has followed along for years as Wells has engineered the program’s turnaround. Her win total mushroomed during the 2011-12 season, when Shawnee went undefeated to claim the Class 5A state title.

When Leone looks at Wells’ career, he sees more than on-court success.

“She’s a better person than she is a coach, and that’s saying a lot after all of her accomplishments,” Leone said. “What she does for our girls on a daily basis as a leader, (she’s) just really kind of the face of Shawnee athletics over the last 16 years.”

During Friday night’s game, the Wolves (14-6) honored their coaching icon in fitting fashion. All but one of their first-half field goals were 3-pointers, serving as a coincidental homage to Wells’ prolific game beyond the arc. Thurman made six 3s, including three in the first quarter.

“I think today, we really focused on our shot,” Thurman said. “Stepping into it, taking our time, not rushing our shots. When we got into rushing our shots, that’s when our shots didn’t fall, so Coach Wells really reminded us to stay under control and step into our shots.”

When the Wolves missed early shots, they just kept shooting, and their persistence paid off. Shawnee also controlled the game defensively, holding the Knights (7-11) to only three first-quarter points.

With a comfortable lead, Wells didn’t have to stress. The Wolves delivered the gift of the 300th win, and Wells said she considers it a thank you to all of the players she has coached.

“For me, personally, it’s very exciting,” Wells said. “But I think for Shawnee in general, it’s even better because this is a testament to all the kids that have come through here.”

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Boys basketball: Crossings Christian 65, Shawnee 47

Cal Furnish recorded a game-high 17 points as Crossings Christian defeated Shawnee, 65-47.

Shawnee led, 13-12, at the end of the first quarter, but Furnish took over in the second. Phoenix Woodson had a spark in the fourth quarter, when he scored eight of his 12 points. Cam Parker provided nine points.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Wendi Wells earns 300th win as Shawnee beats Crossings Christian