Nancy Darsch (December 29, 1951 – November 2, 2020) was an American women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach who worked at both the professional and

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

college levels. A native of

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

, Darsch was a 1973 graduate of

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

. She also earned a master's degree in physical education from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. Darsch was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame on September 25, 2014.

Early career and college basketball

Darsch began her coaching career at Longmeadow High School in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, where she coached basketball, softball, and field hockey from 1973 to 1978. As an assistant under University of Tennessee head coach

Pat Summitt Patricia Susan Summitt (; June 14, 1952 – June 28, 2016) was an American women's college basketball head coach and college basketball player. As a coach, she acquired 1,098 career wins, the most in college basketball history at the time ...

from 1978 to 1985, Darsch helped lead the

Lady Vols The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA women's basketball competition. The team has been a contender for national titles for over forty years, having made every NCAA W ...

to five Final Four appearances. Darsch became the head coach at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1985. In her 12 years at the helm at Ohio State, she led the Buckeyes to four Big Ten Conference Championships and seven NCAA appearances. In 1993, Darsch led Ohio State to a 24–4 record, a Big Ten Championship and the NCAA final. In the championship game, Ohio State lost to Texas Tech, 84–82. She compiled a record of 234–125 (.652) while at Ohio State. Darsch took on the role of assistant coach at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 2006 and 2007, helping the Eagles to compile a 33–27 record during those two seasons, as well as earning a berth in the post-season WNIT.

Olympics

After 1984, Darsch had been part of

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...

. As an assistant coach for the USA Women's Olympic Basketball team she won

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medals in both the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

(Los Angeles) and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

(Atlanta) Olympic Games.

USA Basketball

Darsch served as an assistant coach of the team representing the US in 1984 at the

William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

competition in

Taipei, Taiwan , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. The team chosen to represent the USA was the team expected to be selected as the national team for the Olympics. This resulted in a very strong team which was able to dominate the competition. In the opening game against Australia, the USA won 82–20. While other games were closer, Italy's 23-point loss to the USA was the closest of the eight games. The USA won all eight games, and won the gold medal. The USA team was led by

Cheryl Miller Cheryl Deann Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA on TNT, NBA games on Turner Sports, TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked ...

, who led the team in scoring at over 15 points per game, rebounding, free throw percentage, assists and steals. Miller was named to the All-Tournament Team, along with

Lynette Woodard Lynette Woodard (born August 12, 1959) is an American basketball player and former head women's basketball coach at Winthrop University. Woodward played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. She became the first female member of the Harle ...

, and

Denise Curry Denise Curry (born August 22, 1959) is an American former basketball player and college and professional basketball coach. Curry was inducted in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. She was inducted into the Naismit ...

. Darsch served as the assistant coach to the team representing the US at the World University Games held in

Sheffield, England Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its southe ...

, in July 1991. The USA team started out with a very strong offense, scoring over 100 points in each of the first four games. The fourth game was against the USSR, a team often challenging the US for the top spot, but the USA won 106–80 this time. The team fell short of 100 points in the game against Canada, but still won by 18 points. In the quarterfinal game, the USA won easily against Romania 135–53, with

Ruthie Bolton Alice Ruth Bolton (born May 25, 1967), known as Ruthie Bolton, is an American former professional women's basketball player. Born in Lucedale, Mississippi, she played at the collegiate, Olympic and professional levels of women's basketball. Bolt ...

scoring 40 points. The game against China was more of a challenge. The USA team shot poorly, hitting only 36% of their shots, but the defense held China to 35% shooting, and won a three-point game, 79–76. The gold medal match was against Spain, but the USA had a 13-point lead at halftime and won 88–62. Bolton was the highest scorer for the USA team with 14 points per game, but

Lisa Leslie Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is formerly the head coach for Triplets (basketball), Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando ...

and

Carolyn Jones Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. She began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Awa ...

were close behind with 13 points per game. Nancy Darsch served as an assistant coach to the USA National team which competed at the 1994

FIBA World Championship for Women The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, also known as the Basketball World Cup for Women or simply the FIBA Women's World Cup, is an international basketball tournament for women's national teams held quadrennially. It was created by the Internati ...

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. The USA team opened strong with large margins of victory in their first five games. The 18-point win over Australia was the smallest margin in that stretch of games. Then the USA team faced Slovakia, and had more of a challenge. The Slovakian team held a lead late in the game, before the USA team made a comeback and won 103–96. The next game was the semifinal against Brazil. The game was close most of the way, but Brazil hit ten free throws in ten attempts in the last minute of the game to edge out the USA 110–107. The USA faced Australia in the bronze medal game, the team they had beaten by 18 points only days before. This game would be much closer, but the USA held off the Aussies to claim the bronze medal.

Professional

Darsch started her professional coaching career in the WNBA's inaugural season (1997) with the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

. As the head coach, she led the Liberty to a 17–11 season and the team advanced to the WNBA final against the eventual champion, the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

. She had the privilege of coaching the Liberty in the first-ever WNBA game against the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

. Darsch earned her first professional victory in that game with a 65–51 victory on June 21, 1997. In her two seasons with New York, she compiled a 36–24 record. In 1999, Darsch took over as head coach for the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

. After two seasons at the helm, she became an advance scout for the team. For the seasons 2003-2005 she was an assistant coach with the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

. Darsch's overall WNBA head coaching record stands at 57–57 in four seasons. Darsch joined the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

and served as an assistant coach for the 2008 through 2013 seasons. In 2010, under the direction of Head Coach

Brian Agler Brian Agler (born August 2, 1958) is an American college athletics administrator and former women's basketball coach. He is the athletic director at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, a position he has held since 2021. Agler served as ...

and Assistant Coach Nancy Darsch, the Seattle Storm won the WNBA Championship over Atlanta in three games.

Post coaching career

She was also a substitute teacher for

Plymouth Public Schools Plymouth Public Schools is a school district that serves Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, Massachusetts. It operates 12 schools, making it one of the largest town school districts in the state. In June 2021, the Plymouth Public Schools were pl ...

. Darsch died at the age of 68 on November 2, 2020, of Parkinson's disease.

Head coaching record

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WNBA Finals The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. The series is played between the win ...

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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References

External links

CSTV

Official site of the Seattle Storm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darsch, Nancy 1951 births 2020 deaths American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Massachusetts Minnesota Lynx coaches New York Liberty head coaches Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball coaches People from Plymouth, Massachusetts Seattle Storm coaches Springfield College alumni Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball coaches University of Tennessee alumni Washington Mystics coaches Washington Mystics head coaches Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Massachusetts