LEVELLAND — Leading the Lady Texans to a 32-1 clip and their first outright conference title since 2013, Cayla Petree was named the 2019-2020 NJCAA Div. I Women's Basketball Coach of the Year Friday.

Petree led the Lady Texans to a No. 2 overall seed at the Women's Basketball National Tournament proving to be one of the top teams on both ends of the floor throughout the season. South Plains ripped off a 26 game win streak to begin the year, earning the program a No. 1 national ranking for just the second time in program history, both coming under Petree's guidance.

Already named the WBCA Two-Year College National Coach of the Year, as well as the WJCAC Coach of the Year and WhoopDirt.com Coach of the Year, the Lady Texans finished first nationally with a 50.6 percent shooting clip for the season and gave up just 49.5 points per game, the top mark in the NJCAA.

Petree, who will be moving on to Gulf Coast State next season, amassed an overall record of 127-36 during her five-year stint in Levelland, leading the Lady Texans to back-to-back conference crowns and three national tournament appearances. South Plains reached the Elite Eight of the national tournament during the 2018-2019 season and was undoubtedly a national title contender again this year.

Petree's squad without question reached its full potential, with five players earning all-Conference honors, with six members from the 2019-2020 team inking Div. scholarships.

Sophomore sharpshooter Sarah Shematsi signed with LSU on Nov. 13, while Caroline Germond and Channel Noah inked with TCU. The Lady Texans will also send 6-foot-5 center Ruth Koang to the South Eastern Conference next year after Koang committed to the University of Alabama on March 20. Most recently, 6-foot-1 forward Ka'Lia Smith announced she will be moving on to play for the University of Texas at Arlington next season, and sophomore Oceane Robin announced her commitment to California Baptist University at Riverside.