Women's Basketball | 8/21/2015 1:35:00 AM
ABILENE – Caroline Omamo, one of the greatest players in ACU women's basketball history, passed away last week in Kenya after a lengthy illness. Her funeral is set for Saturday, Aug. 29.
A recipient of a NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship in 1998, Omamo is the 10th-leading scorer in Wildcat women's basketball history with 1,461 points and the seventh-leading rebounder 924. She is one of only six ACU women to score at least 1,400 points and pull down at least 900 rebounds in a career.
"(Former ACU head coach) Suzanne Fox and I first saw this talented left-handed post in a video sent to us by former ACU men's head coach, Tony Mauldin," said former ACU assistant coach Deonna Shake. "She was playing in an outdoor co-ed pickup game in Kenya and we knew we had to have her. Caroline Omamo was one of the most valuable pieces to the success we enjoyed in the mid-1990s.
"As she improved, our team won by larger margins," Shake said. "She was athletic, graceful, competitive and epitomized poise under pressure. When Caroline was at the high post, we boasted one of the most deadly high-low offenses in the nation."
Omamo was a three-time first team all-Lone Star Conference selection and the 1997-98 LSC MVP. She also was the LSC Postseason tournament MVP in 1996 and was a member of the all-tournament team in 1997. She was a three-time first team WBCA-Kodak all-district selection and three times was named honorable mention WBCA-Kodak all-America.
She played in all but one contest during ACU's 49-game home winning streak (Jan. 23, 1995 – Nov. 28, 1998), the most games played by any Wildcat in the streak. She also was a key member of ACU's 1995-96 team that went 31-2 and finished No. 3 in the nation after spending a large portion of the year ranked No. 1 in the country. Omamo helped ACU to a combined record of 81-13 in her three seasons, including two LSC titles, one regional championship and one trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
In November of 2006, Omamo was selected to the Lone Star Conference's all-time women's basketball team in commemoration of the league's 75th anniversary. She was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in October 2010.
