Her time at Wisconsin has been nothing short of turbulent.
For three years her teams lost. Then came the hope for breakthrough seasons that was twice dashed. Furthermore, a stream of belittling questions were constantly asked about her, comparing her to a more successful predecessor or her salary to one of a more successful Badger head coach in a more visible sport.
But after this year, it seems fitting that Lisa Stone finally gets her due.
Her team now sits at 20-9 and finished the conference season in a tie for third place, best since 2001. Barring some unbelievable situation, in a few weeks the Badgers will head to their first NCAA tourney since 2002 and their first with Stone at the helm.
This year's squad didn't score a lot of points (only one Badger averages more than 10 per game), but that was a result of slowing the game down and limiting possessions, and lowering both their and their opponents points per game. The pure scoring numbers place them second in the league in points allowed.
Three times Wisconsin strung together four-game winning streaks, and the team only dropped consecutive games once in the entire season.
For that, Stone was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, an award that should hold much more meaning considering her first six years in Madison.
In the first three years, the team never garnered a winning record and was as far as could be from the conference title race. In 2006-'07 came the jump, when, led by a pair of stalwart wings in Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks, the Badgers made it back to the postseason, getting all the way to the title game of the NIT.
With literally every player coming back and a new crop of freshmen, it seemed like the following year would mark Wisconsin's return to importance in the Big Ten. Stone's team was tabbed for the preseason top-25 and early on projected to the NCAA tournament field.
But then it all fell apart.
The team never realized its goal and, despite the talents of seniors Anderson, Banks and center Danielle Ward, Wisconsin finished just two games above .500, losing in the first round of the NIT.
The next year featured similar disappointment as a 10-1 start gave way to a 9-13 finish and another year outside the Big Dance.
With those struggles came the criticisms and calls for her job. A number of players quit along the way and one, Mariah Dunham who was 20 at the time, was thrown off the team.
Stone was often compared to her predecessor, Jane Albright, who was arguably the best coach in program history and was rather unceremoniously dumped after a single bad season (that followed eight consecutive winning ones).
Furthermore it was often pointed out that her salary was considerably higher than that of Mike Eaves, the more successful head man of the higher-profile men's hockey team. When her contract came up for renewal, these questions were repeatedly raised, asking why a relatively unsuccessful coach should be retained.
Through all the criticism, Stone persevered, and now with this team, this year, she can quiet the doubters. When asked about getting the award from the Big Ten, she reportedly credited her team, but away from the cameras and microphones hopefully she is savoring this one.
The team isn't bursting with top-level talent, but it has been good enough this season. Good enough to get the program pointed back toward competing at a high level, good enough to quell the detractors and good enough to show that Stone deserves her due credit.
Think the Badgers can make noise in March and turn this into an even more special season for Stone and the school. Tell Ben about it at breiner@wisc.edu.
