OMAHA, Neb. - University of Nebraska Omaha women's basketball coach Chance Lindley announced the hiring of two new assistants to his coaching staff on Wednesday, Shanele Stires and Elena Lovato. The two will join returning assistant Jason Flores and Lindley on the UNO bench this season.

"I am pleased to bring in both Shanele and Elena to the Maverick basketball program," Lindley said. "These two are both high-quality coaches with a lot of experience and energy. In addition to Jason, these three will make up an exceptional staff. I am really looking forward to working with all three of them as we get closer and closer to starting Division I play."

Shanele Stires
Stires will be in charge of recruiting, scouting and the development of UNO's post players as the Mavericks transition to Division I. She comes to UNO from Stetson University, where she was an assistant coach for one year, helping Head Coach Lynn Bria guide the second-best turnaround in Division I in 2010-11, as the Hatters went from six wins in 2009-10 to 20 wins last season. Stetson went on to win the Atlantic Sun conference tournament for the first time since 2005 and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Stires' primary responsibilities with the Hatters included recruiting coordinator and post-player coach.

Stires led the effort toward producing the top-ranked 2011 recruiting class in the Atlantic Sun Conference, which included three players listed in ESPN.com's Top 300. The class was ranked 63rd in the nation by recruiting analyst Dan Olson.

"I am extremely excited to join the Maverick family and pioneer a brand new era in Nebraska Omaha athletics," Stires said. "Coach Lindley is a great friend and mentor who is not only a great coach, but a better person, and I feel blessed to be a part of co-creating a championship caliber program with him and our athletic staff and coaches."

A collegiate standout at Kansas State and a WNBA veteran, Stires coached at San Diego State under Beth Burns for two years before joining Stetson's staff. During her time at SDSU, the Aztecs won two Mountain West Conference championships and appeared in two NCAA Tournaments, reaching the second round in 2009 and defeating both No. 17 Texas and No. 9 West Virginia to reach the Sweet 16 as a No. 11 seed in 2010.

Before SDSU, Stires was an assistant coach at the University of San Francisco in 2006-07. From 2003-06, Stires assisted Bria at Ohio, tutoring two All-MAC post players and a MAC All-Freshman Team honoree in her three seasons in Athens, Ohio. Other past coaching experiences include time spent at NCAA Division III Augsburg College as well as Salina (Kan.) South High School, which made the Class 5A state finals while she was on staff in 1997.

Stires was a standout college basketball star at Kansas State from 1992-95, where she scored 1,344 career points, grabbed 701 career rebounds and earned Kodak All-America honorable mention, First-Team All-Big Eight honors and runner-up in Conference Player of the Year voting as a senior in 1995. She left the school ranked fifth all-time in career rebounds and sixth all-time in scoring.

From there Stires moved on to a professional basketball career, winning two American Basketball League titles with the Columbus Quest from 1996-99. After the ABL folded, Stires joined the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, where she played 49 games from 2000-01. During the WNBA offseason, Stires took her game across the Atlantic Ocean, playing professionally in Greece, Portugal and Sweden. 

Stires received her bachelor's degree in social science from Kansas State in 1995 and is pursuing a Master's in coaching education degree.

Elena Lovato
Lovato spent the 2010-11 season as the head coach at Grayson County Community College in Denison, Texas. There, she led the Lady Vikings to a 33-4 overall record and a fifth-place finish at the national tournament. Lovato was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Junior College Coach of the Year, the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and the Region V Coach of the Year following Grayson County's stellar season. The Lady Vikings won both the conference and regional titles in Lovato's only season at the helm. She coached two All-Americans, three All-Region players and six All-Conference players at GCCC.

"I am so excited for this opportunity to be a part of the Maverick women's basketball coaching staff during this exciting time in the athletic department," Lovato said. "I have always aspired to reach the Division I level, and I am grateful to Coach Lindley for including me on this fantastic staff he has put together. I believe great things can be accomplished here at UNO, and we're all excited to start making them happen."

Prior to her successful stint at Grayson County, Lovato was the interim head coach at Trinity Valley Community College in 2010. Lovato earned a 9-2 record after taking over midway through the season and led the Lady Cards to a sixth-place finish at the national tournament and was awarded Region XIV Coach of the Year honors after the Lady Cards won the regional championship. Lovato coached one All-American, three All-Region players and four All-Conference players in her one season at Trinity Valley.

Lovato served as an assistant at Trinity Valley before earning the interim head coach title. Before that, she was an assistant at the University of Houston in 2008-09. Prior to UH, Lovato spent one season as a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State (Kan.).

In addition to her experience at the collegiate level, Lovato also has coached at the prep level, serving as the head junior varsity and assistant varsity coach at Buffalo High School in Buffalo, Mo. While coaching at BHS, she also spent one year as a physical education teacher at Buffalo Prairie Middle School, earning 2007 Walmart Teacher of the Year honors.

She also has coached and taught at Menaul High School in her hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., where she served as interim head women's basketball coach as well as assistant boys' coach. Lovato also has experience in sales after working from December 2003 to March 2006 in private business.

As a player, Lovato started her collegiate career at West Texas A&M where she played for two seasons (1997-99) before transferring to Missouri Southern to play her final two seasons, earning team captain and MIAA Newcomer of the Year honors in 1999-2000.

Following her collegiate career, she played in the Puerto Rican Women's Pro Basketball League for two years. In 2001, she earned First-Team All-League honors, averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds per game. In 2002, she averaged 18 points and eight rebounds per game. In 2002, she also played for the Chicago Blaze of the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL).

Lovato received her bachelor's degree in university studies from Missouri Southern in May 2005 and graduated from Pittsburg State with her master's degree in physical education in May 2008.