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SPORTS ZONE 1: Minnesota Women's Basketball Coach Recognized

The New England Basketball Hall of Fame named Pam Borton of the Minnesota Gophers the National Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. In the 2003-2004 basketball season, Borton coached the Minnesota Women into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament. The tournament starts with 64 teams. The Gophers finished as one of the final four teams of the tournament, the first time in history.

The New England Basketball Hall of Fame inducts coaches, players, journalists, referees, and others involved in the sport each year. The organization explains on its website that it inducts individuals who have developed or promoted basketball in New England, which is the northeast area of the United States. Any individual of any level of basketball may be nominated, including high school or professional members of the sport. It includes individuals who have brought recognition to basketball by their personal achievements or hard work.

Before she coached at Minnesota, Borton was a part of two successful teams in New England, the University of Vermont and Boston College in Massachusetts.

Last year, Borton's Gophers won 25 games and lost only 9. Their success brought record setting attendance at home games and drew fans to travel to away games. The Connecticut Sun drafted Lindsey Whalen, one of Borton's players. She was picked fourth in the draft and became the first Minnesotan drafted into the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

--Written by Sarah Kurachek

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