Three weeks after her 50th win at UCCS, women’s basketball head coach Misty Wilson tacked on another milestone, winning her 200th career game as a coach.
Before coaching at UCCS, Wilson spent nine seasons at Tarleton State University, where she racked up 146 of her 200 wins, leading the Texans to a Lone Star Conference Championship in 2017.
This would kickstart a three-year streak for the Texans appearing at Division II NCAA Tournaments until they were ultimately promoted to Division I in 2020.
Wilson decided to go back to Division II after three years, accepting the head coaching position at UCCS in 2023. She added 42 more wins to her resume after two years with the Mountain Lions, finishing with a record of 23-8 in the 2023-2024 season and 19-12 in the 2024-2025 season.
Going into 2026, Wilson needed 12 wins to scratch off win number 200, and on Jan. 29, she did just that in an overtime win against Western Colorado University.
“I think unless you’ve been here and done this and stood in these shoes, you don’t realize how hard it is to win at any level. So, to do it 200 times is pretty amazing and almost humbling in a way,” Wilson said.
Prior to Wilson, UCCS only had one coach in its entire history to reach the 200-win mark at the Division II level.
Previous head coach Lynn Plett, who coached the Mountain Lions for seven seasons from 2016-2022, serves as the winningest head coach UCCS has ever seen with a career 317 wins.
“It’s not really just me,” Wilson said, “there are so many more aspects that go into this — there’s myself, but there’s also my staff who have all played an integral part in all these wins, and obviously the players have as well.”
Much of Wilson’s staff followed her from TSU, many of which she coached during her tenure, hiring them later.
Not every win in her journey was built the same. When reflecting on her journey, Wilson had certain wins out of the 200 that stood out from the bunch.
“Midwestern was our first game. We came out and beat them by 20, after they had beat UCCS by 20 the year before, so to kind of flip the script by 40 points was one I won’t forget. I won’t forget the girls, the players’ reactions, those were so special,” Wilson said.
This win sparked a movement that brought a winning culture back to women’s basketball. On top of going 42-20 in her first two seasons at UCCS, Wilson led the Mountain Lions to back-to-back RMAC playoff appearances where they hold a record of 5-1, including an RMAC Tournament Championship just last season.
Wilson also led the team to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2016-2017.
“When we got here, those players had seven losing seasons up until that point… that’s why that win at Northwestern was so special, all of the sudden, they were like, this is paying off, we get it now. Being able to turn that corner and get that buy in from them that first year was really special” she said.
This culture continues to grow, as the team currently has a 12-8 record and sit fourth in the RMAC, looking to make another push for a conference title again this year.
Last year’s conference championship run was unorthodox as the Mountain Lions upset the best in the conference on their way to an unlikely title.
Wilson’s takeaway from this tournament run? Never look past the Mountain Lions.
“Yeah, I think its just never counting us out. Our record is not always going to reflect who and what we are. It’s truly a process…we’re going to find a way, we’re going to scrap and claw, and make sure we’re where we need to be in March.”
Wilson’s statements hold more weight when looking at their schedule. Out of the Mountain Lions’ eight losses this season, five of them were to top 20 ranked teams in the country.
Without this knowledge you may look at a 12-8 record and count UCCS out, but fans should have more optimism in this team than what numbers may suggest.
“It’s hard to beat somebody three times. We feel like we learn and grow as the season progresses, but I think this group is really motivated come the end of season,” said Wilson.
Although the Mountain Lions have dropped some tough games this year, it is hard not to have confidence in this club with eight of eleven players returning from last year’s championship team.
With Wilson’s leadership, the team is looking to be tough to beat no matter who they play, and fans should look forward to what happens in the paint this season.
Women’s Basketball coach Misty Wilson. Photo by Gomountainlions.