JILLIAN FLORES BENNETT begins her first year as head coach for women's basketball. Flores comes to OLLU after an assistant coach position at Iowa Western College in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

While at Iowa Western, under Head Coach Lindsey Vande Hoef, Bennett assisted the team in accumulating a 23-9 record, plus a Region XI Championship and a berth in the District K Championships in 2018-2019. Eleven players were named to the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) All-Academic Team, while six were honored with National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Academic recognition. Her teams had a 100-percent graduation rate.

In 2019-2020, the Reivers had an overall record of 19-10, and Bennett guided several players to NJCAA All-American and ICCAC recognition. She helped move seven players to four-year institutions and guided the team to a 100-percent graduation rate and a 3.42 GPA.

This past season, the team marked a 22-3 record, were Region XI Champions and Central District Champions and qualified for the national tournament. The team was 15th in the nation for assists per game, and several of her players were in the top five and top 10 in field-goal percentage. Two earned All-American status, and five were named to the All-Region Team. The team also had a 100-percent graduation rate and accumulated a 3.5 GPA.

Before her three years at Iowa Western, Bennett was the assistant coach at NAIA's Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb. For two years, she was a coach at Peru State College in Peru, Neb. While at Peru, also an NAIA school, Flores implemented various fundraising endeavors and was responsible for budget tracking.

Bennett received a Master of Science in Organizational Management from Chadron State College in Chadron, Neb., and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Criminology from Benedectine College in Atchison, Kan., where she played basketball and was a two-time scholar-athlete. She also received an Associate of Arts from Iowa Western. Bennett played basketball there, was the team's captain and twice earned Academic All-American, All-Regional Academic and Dean's List honors. She recently married Jarrod Bennett, and the two reside in San Antonio.