LILBURN, Ga. --- Tusculum College's Missy Tiber has been named the 2008 Russell Athletic/WBCA Division II Region III Coach of the Year.

Tiber, who is in her third year at Tusculum, has guided the Pioneers to one of their best seasons in school history. Tusculum has rolled to a 26-4 record while capturing the program's first South Atlantic Conference Championship.

The Pioneers are currently ranked No. 19 in the nation and have earned the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament at-large bid. Tusculum will be the No. 2 seed in this weekend's South Atlantic Regional and will face seventh-seeded Lander University on Friday night at 8 p.m. in Florence, S.C.

Since her arrival in Greeneville, Tiber has led Tusculum to three straight winning seasons, a first since TC reclassified to NCAA Division II in 1998. She has coached the Pioneers to a 60-27 record in her three seasons at Tusculum, the second-most wins by a TC coach since 1984.

Three of her players earned All-South Atlantic Conference recognition this season, including rookie point guard Jasmine Gunn, who was named the SAC Freshman of Year. Also earning All-SAC honors are sophomore forward Stephany Neptune and junior guard Ashli Oliver. Neptune has also been named one of the 40 national finalists for the WBCA Division II All-America Team.

In her first season at Tusculum in 2005-06, Tiber inherited a team that went 8-21 a season before and turned the TC fortunes around going 18-10, while tying for second in the South Atlantic Conference. That team also advanced to the championship game of the SAC Tournament for the first time in school history. The 10-win improvement was also the fifth-best in the nation, earning her Conference Coach of the Year accolades.

The following season, Tusculum battled through numerous injuries to key personnel, but still posted a 16-13 record. The Pioneers finished tied for sixth in the conference, but won four of its last five games, including an 81-61 win over No. 2 seed Catawba to advance to the SAC Tournament semifinal for a second straight year.

This season, Tusculum opened with a 3-2 record, but rallied with a 12-game winning streak and followed that with an 11-game run en route to the SAC regular season title. The Pioneers' 11-game run was halted this past Sunday, falling to Wingate 76-74 in the SAC Tournament final.

Tiber took over the Tusculum program in 2005 after a successful four-year run at Belmont Abbey College. She guided the Crusaders to an impressive 81-36 record, including a 22-8 mark in 2004-05, while advancing to the conference tournament championship game. In her first year at Belmont Abbey, she led her team to a 22-8 record, including a 16-4 mark in the league, while capturing a share of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference championship. That team also won the CVAC Tournament title and earned a berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Prior to Belmont Abbey, she served six years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, West Liberty State College. During her tenure at West Liberty, the Hilltoppers won three West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) championships and four WVIAC Tournament titles. The Toppers also advanced to the NCAA Tournament on four occasions.

The winner of Friday's Tusculum/Lander game will play the winner of the Clayton State/Francis Marion game on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Florence.