A happy bit of happenstance led Katie Mahoney to courtside at Allen Community College. MAHONEY, the former Katie Snodgrass, grew up a proverbial gym rat in Ames, Okla., and became a fixture for her teams at Cimarron High School. MAHONEY RETURNED to Oklahoma to enter the next phase of her career: coaching. THE RED Devil women begin their 2013-14 season Nov. 2 at home against Hesston.
Mahoney moved to Iola over the summer with her husband, Ryan, who had been hired as an assistant coach for the Allen men’s basketball team.
Katie, 30, had been an assistant coach for the Northern Oklahoma College women the past two years. She inquired about an opening for the ACC women’s team.
There was none.
The college had a vacancy on the women’s staff, but it had already been filled just days before her husband was hired.
Undeterred, Katie began developing plans to coach individual players on a private business — a skills instructor.
Then fate intervened.
Mark James, head women’s coach at Allen, announced just days before the fall semester began that he was moving to take over the reins at Dodge City.
In their subsequent job search, ACC administrators accepted applications from across the country, but they didn’t have to look far to find the perfect fit.
Mahoney was hired shortly after her job interviews as the Red Devils’ next coach.
“I’m excited,” she said. “The players have accepted me pretty well, and having Coach (Kiara) Marshall has really helped.”
The 2013-14 Red Devils will have several new faces to go with their coaching staff. Only one Allen player, reserve Kylie Molisee, returns from last year’s squad.
Still, Mahoney sees a nice fit between her and Coach James’ recruits.
Mahoney likes to see her teams utilize speed to force action on defense and create scoring opportunities on offense — much like the strengths of James’ squads.
She sees challenges with this year’s squad.
With only four sophomores on the roster — three are transfers — and the rest freshmen, Allen’s players must hit the ground running this season.
“It’s good and bad,” Mahoney said. “It’s good that they’re not having to change systems from something they’ve learned already. It’s a fresh start for everybody. The bad thing is they have no college experience. It’s definitely going to be a process to get ready for the season.”
“I just loved the competition, and the process of getting better as a player,” she said.
Mahoney took her skills to Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma City, where she became a two-time All-American and a two-time Academic All-American.
She led her team to the NAIA national championship game three straight seasons, winning national titles in 2003 and 2004.
From there, she played professionally in Denmark, Germany and Iceland. Mahoney led the league in scoring in 2010 as part of the Osnabrueck Panthers in Germany in 2010, and led her team to a regular season championship.
As a point guard, Mahoney thrived, controlling the tempo of the game on the court, deciding whether to drive to the basket, feed a teammate for an open shot, or take a long-range 3-pointer.
“The style was different in Europe,” she said. “The players were not as athletic as in America, but they had better shooters, and worked harder with their fundamentals. They played a faster game.”
Another source of pride: Mahoney’s teams made it to the playoffs each year she played in Europe.
“After being over there, I proved what I could do,” she said. “I knew the level where I could play. But there were bigger things out there for me than just playing.”
She moved to Northern Oklahoma in College in Enid, where she met and married Ryan, an assistant coach for the men’s team.
As an assistant, Mahoney helped lead her team to a 51-13 record in her two years there, where they won the OCAC conference both years.
The Mahoneys were content to stay at NOC, where they became fixtures in the community.
But Ryan, a Girard native, saw an opportunity to move closer to his hometown when the ACC opening arose, with the chance to work with Allen men’s coach and Enid native, Andy Shaw.
“It was a tough decision,” she said. “We loved Enid. We met and became friends with some great people. But this was a chance to get closer to family, with new opportunities, so we went for it.”
Basketball standout takes helm for ACC women
