Arkansas-Pine Bluff stayed in the running for a top seed in the SWAC women’s basketball tournament after knocking off Texas Southern 81-62 on Monday.
The victory halted a two-game losing streak and lifted the Golden Lions to third place in the SWAC. The win also was important for another reason.
Dawn Thornton picked up her milestone 100th win as UAPB head coach.
“I’m happy we had an opportunity to do it with this team that worked hard for it. It wasn’t an easy win, and they really stepped up and played really hard for me, so I’m thankful for this group, “Thornton told the Pine Bluff Commerical Appeal about the milestone.
For Thornton, it all started In the 2021-22 season when she guided the Golden Lions to 13 wins, a total the program had not reached since the 2013 season.
Since then, the Golden Lions have improved in win-total the last several seasons.
Prior to her time at UAPB, Thornton spent the previous seasons as the lead assistant at Jacksonville University after a stint as head coach at Division II institution Shorter University.
Thorton was the head coach at Prairie View from 2014-16, where she led the Panthers to the SWAC Tournament crown and the automatic NCAA berth that went along with it. That same year, Thornton was also named HBCU Digest Female Coach of the Year.
The Jackson, Miss. native played her first two collegiate seasons at Atlanta Metropolitan College, where she served as a two-time team captain and helped lead the team to consecutive GJCAA Tournament appearances on the program’s inaugural team in 2000.
Thorton completed her playing days at Jackson State, where she helped the Lady Tigers claim a regular season SWAC Championship and a run to the conference tournament semifinals.
