OVERALL: 31-5, TRANSOUTH: 9-3 (3rd of 7) TRANSOUTH TOURNAMENT RUNNER-UP: POSTSEASON RESULTS: TranSouth Tournament: Defeated Lyon College 68-39 (First Round), Defeated Union 75-62 (Semifinals), Defeated by Freed-Hardeman 71-64 (Championship Game) NAIA Tournament: Defeated Park (Mo.) 64-51 (First round), Defeated Lewis-Clark State 70-54 (Sweet 16), Defeated by Lubbock Christian (Tex.) 62-51 (Elite Eight)

The Trevecca women’s basketball team could hardly wait to tip off the 2005-06 season. The team was ranked No. 13 in the NAIA preseason top 25 and had four starting seniors returning for one more go around the NAIA. In addition to the seniors, the team returned its entire lineup minus one from a team that had advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight the season before. Also, the team would be playing for the first time for new head coach Gary Van Atta.

Trevecca opened the season on the road at No. 22 Campbellsville and came away with the victory. It was the 400th career coaching victory for Gary Van Atta, and his first at the helm of the Trojan program. Trevecca would go on to win a school-record 19 consecutive games and reach the No. 3 ranking in the NAIA.

Trevecca defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene for homecoming, and then at Covenant College before hosting the three-day State Farm Classic. Trevecca’s Jackie Weaver won the TranSouth Player of the Week Award to go along with the team’s 3-0 record in the classic. Trevecca defeated Fresno Pacific, No. 21 St. Xavier, and Olivet Nazarene in the classic. Trevecca’s Jackie Weaver was the Classic MVP and was joined on the Classic team by Ashlie Gilland and Mariska Reed.

Trevecca set a school record for wins to start a season with its seventh victory of the year over NAIA D-II No. 19 Bryan College. Jackie Weaver was named the TranSouth Co-Player of the Week, the second time for Weaver to be honored this season. In the Bryan game, Trevecca senior Ashlie Gilland joined the 1,000-point club at TNU. Trevecca packed up and headed to Cleveland, Tenn., to play No. 15 Lee University, with the Trojans winning 71-57. The 14-point victory signaled to the rest of the NAIA that Trevecca was onto something special.

Trevecca traveled to Oklahoma and defeated No. 3 Oklahoma Christian and No. 9 Southern Nazarene. Trevecca senior Jana Reed was named the TranSouth Player of the Week following two great performances. The team was rewarded with the No. 6 ranking in the first regular season NAIA rating.

Trevecca hosted the Pops Duncan Classic and improved to 12-0 with defeats of Shorter College and Brescia University. The 12-0 start broke the school record for most consecutive wins, gave Trevecca a No. 4 ranking, and produced a third TranSouth Player of the Week honor for Jackie Weaver. Trevecca stayed close to town with a visit to the Cumberland University Classic and got two more wins over Grace College and Illinois Tech. Kristin Archie was the next Trojan to earn TranSouth Player of the Week honors following the tournament.

Trevecca improved to 16-0 with a pair of non-conference wins at Berry College and at home over Campbellsville. Jackie Weaver picked up her fourth TranSouth Player of the Week honor, and heading in to the team’s first TranSouth game, Trevecca had improved to No. 3 in the NAIA, the single best ranking for any Trevecca athletic program.

Trevecca opened conference play with a win over No. 7 and previously undefeated Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn. Trevecca followed with a win over Martin Methodist and saw Jackie Weaver set the NAIA Division I record for consecutive free throws made with 57. Jackie Weaver was named the Co-Player of the Week, the fifth time Weaver had secured the award this season. Trevecca would hold on to the No. 3 ranking heading into its showdown with No. 5 Union. Trevecca defeated the visiting Bulldogs 72-66 and stretched its winning streak to 19 games.


The winning streak ended in Trevecca’s next game at the hands of No. 2 Freed-Hardeman in Henderson, Tenn. The Trojans dropped to 19-1 and 3-1 in the TranSouth. The Trojans bounced back with a win on the road at Lyon College and were ranked No. 4 in the next poll. Trevecca knocked off another non-conference foe on the road at Brescia University before defeating Blue Mountain for another conference road win. Weaver was named the TranSouth Player of the Week for the sixth time.

Trevecca hosted No. 11 Cumberland for the rematch and had to rally from behind to get the victory. Trevecca then suffered its first and only back-to-back losses on the season when it lost on the road at No. 5 Union and at home to still-No. 2 Freed-Hardeman. The pollsters dropped Trevecca to No. 5, but Trevecca answered back with a road win at Martin Methodist and set a school record for wins in a season with its 25th win of the year over visiting Lyon College. Trevecca finished off the season with another pair of wins, first over non-conference opponent Oakwood College and then against Blue Mountain College.

Trevecca opened the post season with its fifth win in a row over visiting Lyon College in the first round of the TranSouth Tournament. Next was a rematch with No. 4 Union in the semifinals of the TranSouth Tournament. Trevecca bounced the Bulldogs out of the tournament with a win in Jackson. In its sixth win in a row, Trevecca prevented Union from going to the conference title game for the first time in 15 years. Trevecca reached the championship game for the third time in school history and lost after a late run by Freed-Hardeman gave the Lions the victory.

The impressive run in the Conference Tournament earned the Trojans one of four #1 seeds in the NAIA National Tournament and a first round match up with Park University (Mo.), a game that the Trojans won 64-51, another trip to the Sweet 16. There they faced Lewis-Clark State College, a scrappy team that defeated the Trojans in the 2001 tournament. Trevecca dominated the game, however, knocking out the Warriors 70-54 and vaulting the Trevecca women into the Elite Eight for a second straight year. Lubbock Christian awaited the Trojans, and the scrappy Lady Chaps pulled off the upset, ending the most successful season in Trevecca women’s basketball history.

Jackie Weaver was named the TranSouth Player of the Year and a first team NAIA All-American, averaging a double-double with 17.4 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Joining Weaver on the All-TranSouth First Team was fellow senior Ashlie Gilland. Gilland was also named a third team All-American for the second consecutive year. Jana Reed and Kristin Archie made the All-TranSouth Second Team, and Jennifer Bognar and Nikki Ellis made the All-Freshman Team in the TranSouth.

The 31-5 season saw numerous records fall, most notably, the benchmark for wins in a season. The previous record was 24, set in the 1999-2000 season and equaled in 2002-03. The 2005-06 Lady Trojans also set the mark for most consecutive wins in a season, opening the year with a 19-0 mark, shattering the old record of 11 straight.