Head Coach Lori Fish

Lori Fish enters her 16th season as the head coach of St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball in 2023-24. One of the most well-respected and highly regarded coaches in the country, Fish has guided her teams to four 20-win seasons, two Division Championships, three Conference Championships, four Conference Tournament Finals, one NCAA Sweet 16 and five NCAA Tournament berths while twice being named the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Central Region Coach of the Year and was crowned 2021-22 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Coach of the Year. Entering her 31st season overall as a collegiate coach, Fish owns a well-established reputation for building successful programs into winners founded in high-level culture, a true family atmosphere, dominant defense and highly adaptive offense. She owns a 306-216 (.586) overall record with a 196-165 (.543) mark in conference play over her 19 seasons as a head coach and has chartered a 244-163 (.600) record with a 178-135 (.569) NSIC mark at St. Cloud State.

Named the 2022 recipient of the illustrious Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence at South Dakota State, Fish was inducted into the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2022 to honor her career's work in continuing to grow girl's and women's basketball.

Fish has recruited and coached three All-Americans, seven All-Region selections, four Conference Defensive Players of the Year, two Conference Freshmen of the Year, 55 All-Conference selections, six Conference All-Defensive Team members and four Conference All-Freshmen Team members over her collegiate coaching career.

Success in the classroom has been a staple of Lori Fish-led programs throughout her time as a coach. 124 student-athletes have earned Academic All-Conference honors, three gained Academic All-District recognition and two Academic All-Americans have been crowned under Fish’s watch.

Beginning her legendary St. Cloud State career by winning the 2008 NSIC Tournament Championship in her first season leading the program, Fish has since become the second-winningest coach in program history while guiding the Huskies to four NCAA Tournament appearances and three Conference Championships. The Huskies have recorded six straight winning seasons entering 2023-24 – earning a .630 or higher winning percentage in each of those campaigns – and have finished in the top half of the North Division in 10 of 11 campaigns since the conference restructured into the modern two-division era including Division Titles in 2012-13 and 2021-22. SCSU has enjoyed a winning record in 11 of Fish’s 15 seasons on the bench while multiple student-athletes have earned postseason recognition. Over her tenure at St. Cloud State Fish has recruited and coached two All-Americans, four All-Region selections, two NSIC Defensive Players of the Year, six NSIC All-Defensive Team members and four NSIC All-Freshmen Team honorees.

A truly elite mind on the defensive side of the floor, Fish has shaped St. Cloud State into a program defined by playing lockdown defense night in and night out. The Huskies own an incredible 93.2 defensive rating under Fish’s direction while holding opponents to shoot just 41.6% from the floor. Over the past five seasons, St. Cloud State has led the NSIC in scoring defense three times while ranking top-three in scoring defense each of those five years. Her SCSU defenses have held opponents to shoot below 39% in five straight seasons dating back to 2018-19 and have produced defensive ratings below 90.0 in seven campaigns including each of the past three seasons. St. Cloud State’s excellent shooting defense is complemented by phenomenal work both on and off-ball in creating turnovers as the Huskies have forced 17.0 a game alongside a 21.3% opponent turnover percentage in Fish’s tenure. Brehna Evans earned back-to-back NSIC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2020-21 and 2021-22 while she, Nikki Kilboten, Chelsea Nooker, Nicole Anderson and Amanda Wagner each were named to the conference’s All-Defensive Team under Fish’s watch.

St. Cloud State’s offense has earned a reputation as a fundamentally-sound, highly-adaptable unit under Fish’s tenure. Crafting a variety of offensive looks based on personnel, the Huskies have enjoyed phenomenal ball movement and perimeter shooting under Fish – SCSU has ranked top-five across the NSIC in three-point percentage in five of the past seven seasons while landing top-six in assists per game in seven of the last 10. The Huskies also crash the offensive glass extremely well, ranking top-five in the league in six of the past nine seasons and recording a 32.3% offensive rebounding percentage with 12.1 a game under Fish. Her program has excelled at developing three-point marksmen, as each of St. Cloud State’s top six three-point shooters by percentage (min. 100 attempts) were recruited and coached by Fish. Each of the Huskies’ top three single-game individual scoring performances – Lexy Petermann (49), Betsy MacDonald (42) and Tori Wortz (40) – occurred with Fish on the bench.

No stranger to success over her 30 seasons on a collegiate bench, Fish-coached teams have gone 499-331 (.601) and 306-247 (.553) in conference play including her combined 19 years as a head coach and 11 as an assistant. Fish has been involved in eight 20-win seasons and has helped her teams to a winning record in 22 of 30 campaigns on the bench.

Fish owns a winning record in the postseason across her head coaching career, going 16-14 at the conference tournament with a 15-10 record since taking over at SCSU. She has directed five NCAA Tournament Appearances while earning an NCAA Sweet 16 berth and two NSIC Tournament Championships. Including her career as an assistant, Fish has helped guide her teams to three NCAA Sweet 16’s and nine NCAA Tournament berths.

In a 2022-23 campaign full of growth as Fish developed a young roster with just one returning starter, St. Cloud State enjoyed a 17-10 season with a 14-8 mark in conference play. Boasting the No. 2 scoring defense in the NSIC (58.3) and an 88.4 defensive rating, the Huskies were led by First Team All-NSIC forward Katrina Theis’ 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists a night. True freshman Jada Eggebrecht became the program’s first freshman to earn All-NSIC honors with a Second Team nod, scoring 14.3 points per game while shooting 45% from the floor, 40% from three and 89% from the line. St. Cloud State led the league in rebounding margin at +5.5 as Tori Peschel’s 8.5 rebounds per game landed her third in the conference, just two spots ahead of Theis.

2021-22 saw Fish earn WBCA Central Region and NSIC Coach of the Year honors as the Huskies won their first NSIC Regular Season Championship since 1984 while winning the North Division and advancing to the NSIC Tournament Final for the third straight year, going 24-5 with a league-best 19-2 record in conference play. St. Cloud State earned an at-large berth in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Round of 32 for the first time under Fish. The Huskies’ defense again led the NSIC in scoring defense with 55.5 points allowed per game, closing the regular season with the No. 11 scoring defense in the NCAA while recording the best defensive rating in the Fish era at a tremendous 84.5. Tori Wortz repeated as an All-American with 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while Nikki Kilboten joined her as a First Team All-NSIC selection and Brehna Evans added Second Team honors. Evans again was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, scoring 12.8 points a night alongside 2.4 steals, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Kilboten added 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks while closing her career fifth all-time in blocks. SCSU went 12-0 at Halenbeck Hall, going undefeated at home for the first time under Fish. Dispatching (RV) Missouri Southern 69-67 in overtime in the NCAA Round of 64 at the Hays Regional, the Huskies advanced to the Round of 32 for the first time since 2006.

Fish navigated the Huskies through a challenging 2020-21 campaign shortened by the pandemic, returning to the NSIC Tournament Final and earning an at-large berth in the 2021 NCAA Tournament with a 12-6 record and a 7-3 mark in conference play. St. Cloud State again finished second in the North while boasting the NSIC’s top scoring defense at 57.5 points allowed a game and an incredible 87.3 defensive rating. Tori Wortz became the program’s first All-American in 14 years by averaging 15.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists while Brehna Evans was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Year thanks to her reputation as one of the top defenders in the region – adding 14.4 points and 2.1 steals a night.

St. Cloud State won the 2020 NSIC Tournament after finishing second in the North Division, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while going 23-7 with a 16-6 record in conference play during the 2019-20 season. Fish was named WBCA Central Region Coach of the Year and was a Finalist for the 2020 NCAA DII National Coach of the Year award, guiding the Huskies to their best record since their 29-5 2006 Final Four appearance. Five players averaged double-digit points per game while three – Madelin Dammann (First Team), Tori Wortz (Second Team) and Nikki Kilboten (Second Team) – were named All-NSIC. The Huskies’ defense allowed just 61.9 points a night to rank third in the league and posted a 90.9 defensive rating while the offense was third in both shooting percentage and three-point percentage. SCSU defeated Wayne State, Augustana, No. 24 Sioux Falls and (RV) Minnesota Duluth on their way to the Conference Tournament Title as Kilboten was named MVP alongside All-Tournament Team selections Dammann and Wortz.

SCSU’s defense took another step forward in 2018-19, holding opponents to just 59.1 points a game as the Huskies went 19-10 with a 14-8 record in NSIC action while advancing to the NSIC Tournament Semifinals. Balanced scoring supported the rugged defense as Mallie Doucette, Tori Wortz, Madelin Dammann and Nikki Kilboten each averaged 10-plus points per game. Doucette and Wortz each were named Second Team All-NSIC selections while Kilboten swatted 2.1 shots per game and added 6.8 boards, earning NSIC All-Defensive Team honors as a sophomore. Katrina Theis earned All-Freshman Team accolades with 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds as she and Kilboten formed one of the best young frontcourts in the league. The Huskies’ defensive rating dipped below 90.0 for the first time since 2012-13, recording a tremendous 89.3 mark as the backbone of the team’s success.

The Huskies bounced back with a stellar 17-10 season in 2017-18, going 14-8 in conference play to finish third in the North Division. St. Cloud State owned the best scoring defense in the league at 60.0 points allowed per game, posting a defensive rating of 91.9. First Team All-NSIC selection Andrea Thomas directed the offense with 13.5 points and 2.3 assists per game while Second Team All-NSIC pick Amanda Christianson logged 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 43.9% from three, both closing their career as all-conference players. Talented combo guard Tori Wortz was named to the All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.1 points and 3.5 rebounds a game.

After graduating three starters, the 2016-17 Huskies welcomed six new members to the regular rotation and went 11-16 with a 9-13 record in NSIC competition. Senior guard Betsy MacDonald earned First Team All-NSIC honors while averaging 17.8 points and 3.4 assists per game, closing the season as the league’s third-leading scorer and breaking both SCSU’s single-season and career marks for made threes. Fellow senior Chelsea Nooker was named to her second consecutive NSIC All-Defensive Team while adding Second Team All-Conference honors, posting 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals a night. The Huskies shot 35.2% from three in conference play to finish fifth in the league while forcing the fifth-most turnovers on the defensive end.

St. Cloud State’s 2015-16 campaign closed with a 13-14 record and a 12-10 mark in conference play. Senior Karissa LeCaptain led the Huskies with 13.6 points and 7.9 rebounds a night while the dynamic duo of juniors Chelsea Nooker (13.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.2 SPG) and Betsy MacDonald (13.0 PPG, 3.4 APG) finished as the second and third-leading scorers. Nooker earned First Team All-NSIC honors while adding an All-Defensive Team nod. The Huskies closed the season ranked second in the league in offensive rebounds per game at 13.7 as LeCaptain’s 3.5 a night was second across the NSIC while Nooker’s 59 steals were second-most in the conference. SCSU also led the league in free throw percentage at 78.4% with MacDonald’s 91.8% mark at the stripe landing her third.

Despite graduating their top three scorers, St. Cloud State didn’t miss a beat in 2014-15 as the Huskies went 16-12 with an 11-11 mark in conference play while advancing to the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinal. Following two seasons as the top scorer off the bench, junior guard Lexy Petermann enjoyed a breakout Second Team All-NSIC season as the leading scorer and rebounder at 14.2 points and 7.2 boards a game while shooting 38.1% from deep. Sophomore guard Chelsea Nooker added 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in her first season as a starter – fellow sophomore Betsy MacDonald finished as the third-leading scorer with 11.3 a night. Junior forward Karissa LeCaptain was a force in the paint, shooting 47.7% on the season while finishing sixth in league field goal percentage.

2013-14 saw the Huskies post one of their best offensive seasons under Fish, averaging 77.5 points per game while going 16-11 and 12-10 in conference play. St. Cloud State led the NCAA by shooting 83.9% from the free throw line, shot 43.6% from the floor and 34.8% from beyond the arc while posting a strong 106.0 offensive rating. Jessica Benson closed out her career by averaging a double-double on 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds a night alongside 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals. She and senior guard Sam Price (14.7 PPG) earned Second Team All-NSIC honors in their final season with the Huskies. Price led the league with a 92.7% free throw percentage while Benson was the NSIC’s second-leading rebounder. Fellow senior Rachel Moen flourished as the point guard, posting 12.4 points and 4.3 assists while shooting 39.9% beyond the arc.

Fish brought SCSU back to the NSIC Tournament in 2013 as the Huskies went 19-9 and 14-8 in conference play, winning the NSIC North Division and advancing to the conference tournament quarterfinal. Junior forward Jessica Benson provided 14.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals a night to earn Second Team All-NSIC honors alongside fellow Second Teamer Sam Price’s 13.7 points per game. Senior point guard Nicole Anderson earned All-Defensive Team honors as she and Amanda Wagner each averaged 2.5 steals per game, landing third and fourth respectively across the league. Price led the NSIC in free-throw shooting at 92.8% while marksman Rachel Moen shot 43.1% from three off the bench in NSIC action to rank fifth. The Huskies lowered their defensive rating to a staunch 85.2, forcing 19.7 turnovers a game.

St. Cloud State returned to .500 in 2011-12 with a 13-13 mark while going 10-12 in NSIC contests. Relying on a defense that forced 22.2 turnovers a game with 11.8 steals per night, the Huskies logged a stellar 88.8 defensive rating over the course of Fish’s fourth season. Amanda Wagner was named to the NSIC All-Defensive Team while landing eighth in the league in steals/game – Nicole Anderson led the Huskies and finished second in the league with 2.5 steals a night. Sophomore forward Jessica Benson returned from an injury-shortened 2010-11 season to lead SCSU with 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds a game, adding spacing by shooting 39.4% beyond the arc.

The Huskies’ rebuild made quick work in 2010-11, improving from seven games under .500 to two in just one year as SCSU went 12-14 with a 9-13 record in conference play. Fish’s young roster began to establish itself despite battling injuries to the frontcourt, again led in scoring by Second Team All-NSIC honoree Talisha Barlow (13.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG). Freshman guard Sam Price was named to the league’s All-Freshman Team after posting 11.4 points a night while the stellar defensive backcourt of Nicole Anderson and Amanda Wagner combined for 4.7 steals a game with both sophomores averaging at least two swipes a contest.

Graduating four starters from their championship team, Fish began her work on an anticipated rebuild in 2009-10 as the Huskies went 10-17 with a 5-15 mark in conference play. Second Team All-NSIC selection Talisha Barlow was the lone upperclassman to start – averaging 14.7 points and 4.6 rebounds a night to lead the Huskies in both categories – as SCSU developed a talented young corps of freshmen and sophomores. Freshman guards Nicole Anderson and Amanda Wagner started 26 and 25 games respectively, showing immense promise on the defensive end by posting 2.2 and 1.6 steals per game respectively.

In her first season at the helm, Fish led St. Cloud State to their first conference title since 1984 by winning the 2009 NSIC Tournament Championship while going 22-9 record with a 12-8 mark in league play, earning an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Rachel Booth earned NSIC Tournament MVP honors while Katie Tacheny and Talisha Barlow each were named to the All-Region and All-Conference teams. Tacheny led the NSIC in scoring during conference play while Barlow landed sixth, closing the season averaging 16.6 and 15.4 respectively while Booth added 11.7 a night.

Fish was hired as the eighth head coach in St. Cloud State Women’s Basketball history in July of 2008.

Following five years as Dr. Lori Ulfert’s top assistant at St. Cloud State, Fish was hired as the head coach at Minnesota State-Mankato in 2004. Fish transformed the Mavericks from a middling program into an NCAA contender that would go on to win a National Championship, improving their win total in each of her four seasons. She went 62-53 (.539) over four years in Mankato and oversaw a turnaround that took the program from a 11-16 record in her debut 2004-05 season to a historic 23-9 campaign in 2007-08. In her final season with the Mavericks in 2007-08, Fish’s offense averaged nearly 81 points per game and ranked No. 3 in the NCAA in scoring as MSU reached the NCAA Sweet 16. Minnesota State boasted a 94.1 defensive rating under Fish with her hallmark defense recording 10.7 steals and forcing 19.8 turnovers a game.

Fish earned her first lead assistant role in 1999-00, joining St. Cloud State as Dr. Lori Ulfert’s top assistant. Over her five years with the Huskies, Fish oversaw all areas as the lead assistant while serving as both the recruiting and strength & conditioning coordinator in addition to molding the defense. The Huskies went 78-61 (.561) with an NCAA Tournament appearance – advancing to the Round of 32 in 2001 – and three North Central Conference Tournament berths. Jennifer Higgins was named the NCC Defensive Player of the Year in Fish’s first season while Andrea Shogren and Erika Quigley earned NCC Freshman of the Year honors in 2000-01 and 2003-04 respectively. Fish was instrumental in the recruiting of Quigley, as the 2004 Freshman All-American would go on to win NCAA DII National Player of the Year honors as a senior and became a St. Cloud State Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee in 2023. Higgins’ DPOY honor highlighted Fish’s impressive work with the Huskies defense, helping the unit produce a 95.3 defensive rating while forcing 19.6 turnovers a contest. Fish helped 13 Huskies earn All-NCC honors in addition to 19 Academic All-NCC selections during her time as the top assistant.

After one year at Eastern Illinois, Fish returned to Brookings as an assistant coach at her alma mater in 1996-97 and spent the next three seasons serving under the legendary Nancy Neiber. Earning one more NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999, Fish helped SDSU go 103-39 (.725) with a 60-30 (.667) record in North Central Conference play across her five years as a GA and assistant coach. Gwen Greiner was named NCC Defensive Player of the Year in 1998-99 under Fish while Dawn Hull and Lora Kluis earned All-Region honors in 1994-95 and 1998-99 respectively. 10 Jackrabbits earned All-Conference honors during Fish’s time with the program. Already a rising star in the coaching world, Fish’s defensive mind helped SDSU post an 89.8 defensive rating while forcing 20.6 turnovers a contest in her five seasons on the bench.

Fish spent 1995-96 as an assistant coach at NCAA DI Eastern Illinois, helping guide the Panthers to a 12-15 record and a berth in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament. Barbora Garbova was named First Team All-Mid Continent Conference under Fish’s watch.

Graduating from South Dakota State in 1991, Fish spent two seasons coaching Foley High School before opening her collegiate coaching career by returning to Brookings for a two-year stint as a graduate assistant coach in 1993-94 and 1994-95. The Jackrabbits earned Sweet 16 appearances in both of her seasons as the grad assistant, going 46-14 (.767) with four players earning All-NCC honors.

Beginning her collegiate playing career in 1986 at South Dakota State, Fish earned two All-North Central Conference honors while graduating eighth all-time in scoring with 1,113 points. She appeared in 112 games over her four-year playing career with the Jackrabbits and averaged 10.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Following a junior year in which she posted 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds a game, Fish led SDSU in scoring while captaining the team as a senior in 1989-90 with 16.0 a night to earn First Team All-NCC accolades. South Dakota State appeared in one NCAA Tournament while going 80-34 during her four seasons of competition.

A St. Cloud native, Fish attended St. Cloud Tech High School and was inducted into the St. Cloud Tech Hall of Fame in 2004.

Fish holds both her undergraduate and master’s degrees from South Dakota State University.