focus on HISTORY
A Winning Tradition Former Women’s Basketball Team Captain Remembers the Start of a Winning Legacy in celebration of 25th Anniversary for School’s First NAIA Championship By Cary Pirrong
On a spring evening nearly 25 years ago, the Lady Chiefs, led by NAIA Coach of the Year Bob Colon, capped an incredible journey. They finished their season with Oklahoma City University’s first NAIA national championship on March 22, 1988. It was the start of a tradition for this NAIA powerhouse and it was the culmination of a journey that, for several members of the team, was neither glamorous nor easy. The obstacles those Lady Chiefs overcame have led them to help others in similar circumstances, said Patricia Ordonez-Pinto, BS ’90, starting point guard for the 1988 women’s basketball team. Ordonez-Pinto came to Oklahoma City University not long after leaving her native Colombia. She first met Coach Colon while attending school and playing basketball at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College with three other native Colombians. Things were not going well for her or her Colombian teammates in the classroom or on the basketball floor. They were struggling in classes because of language barriers. Meanwhile, on the basketball court, Ordonez-Pinto and her Colombian teammates were used to a much faster-paced game from their days on the Colombian National Team, and found it hard to fit in with other players on the NEO A&M team. Ordonez-Pinto remembers well a pre-season scrimmage against Colon and his team. During the scrimmage, she realized Colon spoke fluent Spanish. She was so impressed she asked Colon if she and her Colombian teammates could transfer to Oklahoma City University. Ordonez-Pinto laughed as she recalled also including NEO A&M Assistant Coach Felix Pinto, who she would later marry, in the discussion with Coach Colon. The following year, she and her teammates from Colombia: Elizabeth Hinestroza, Janet Torijano, and Maria de Jesus Arizala were all students at Oklahoma City University. Pinto, BS ’89, also made the move to OCU. Ordonez-Pinto said though she still faced some struggles in the classroom after transferring to OCU, the attitude of her professors was different. She explained Colon and her professors worked with her and her teammates. She said everyone supported them and understood they were trying to learn English at the same time they were going to college. She smiled broadly when recalling that Colon was a very tough no-nonsense coach on the court while he was like a father to her and her teammates.
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focus FALL 2012
Patricia Ordonez-Pinto (front) makes a play for the Lady Chiefs during OCU’s 1988 national championship-winning season.