INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – Joanna Bernabei McNamee has been a winner all her basketball life.

McNamee led Weirton Madonna to three straight state basketball tournament appearances, including a state championship her senior season as the Lady Dons rolled to a 24-2 record in 1992.

The dynamic point guard then took her impressive talents to West Liberty, starring for Lynn Ullom for four years.

McNamee tallied 1,317 points and dished out an NCAA Division II record 1,107 assists. She was named WVIAC Player of the Year and Division II All-American after her senior season. She was tabbed first team all-conference all four years and was inducted to the West Liberty Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

She now is excelling as a collegiate head coach. McNamee has her University of Pikeville (UPIKE) hoopsters in the NAIA National Tournament Final Four.

The Kentucky-based and No. 6-seeded Bears ousted No. 5-seeded Great Falls (Mont.). 75-68, in the quarterfinals Saturday. UPIKE now faces No. 2-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) tonight at 9.

“Obviously, I’m ecstatic to be among the last four,” McNamee said. “I always say this is a player’s game and I give them all the credit, as coaches we just try to prepare them the best we can.

“My staff has been amazing putting in the work to get these ladies in position to win,” she added on the school’s website. “I thought it was a sloppy, back-and-forth game, but we had some players step up. It feels great.”

UPIKE hadn’t won a game in three previous trips to the tournament.

The Bears are now 26-8 in McNamee’s third year at the helm. She entered the campaign with a 37-27 record at the Mid-South Conference school.

“When I took the position here at that University of Pikeville three years ago, I really didn’t know what to expect. My first year was tough and I often questioned if I had made the right decision,”

McNamee said. “As my second year unfolded and the team started to take on that tough winner mentality, I knew I had made a good decision and I felt like I was making a difference in these young ladies lives – as a coach that is my number one priority.”

McNamee launched her coaching career at West Virginia Wesleyan. That was followed by stops at Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and the University of Maryland, helping guide the Lady Terps to a national title.

She was named captain of the West Virginia Class A all-state team and captain of the OVAC Class A-AA West Virginia team when basketball was a fall sport in her senior season at Madonna. The multi-talented guard finished her prep career with 1,002 points and more than 500 career assists. She also starred in tennis and track for the Lady Dons.

Kapral may be reached at bkapral@timesleaderonline.com