Collier celebrates 100th win with SFCC women’s basketball

Published 4:35 pm Wednesday, November 11, 2026

By Jack Denebeim

When Nicole Collier took over State Fair Community College women’s basketball, she saw potential where others might have seen a rebuilding project.

The Lady Roadrunners won just one game the year prior to Collier’s arrival, but six seasons later, she celebrated her 100th victory on the SFCC sideline.

“When I look back at the time I made the decision to come to State Fair, I believed it could be something special,” Collier said. “I thought it was a place that you could win, you could provide opportunities for young women to continue their education and go on and play, and it’s lived up to that from my perspective … State Fair has provided that experience and it’s [stemmed] from on and off the court accomplishments that come with 100 wins.”

Collier reached the milestone after State Fair defeated the Central Methodist reserve team 97-32 on Oct. 4.

After the game, Collier headed to the locker room to address the team, but as she entered, the lights were turned off.

As Collier turned the corner, the Lady Roadrunners greeted her with silly string, confetti, a poster and custom plate to commemorate the win.

“I walked into the locker room after the game and the lights were off, and I’m like, ‘Why are the lights off?’” Collier said. “I would tell you, I was not expecting that. When the locker room was dark, I couldn’t figure out what was special about tonight. It was pretty cool. The girls were excited. There was a whole lot of energy. I was caught off guard. It was unexpected. So, those surprises are nice.”

Collier ranks fourth in program history for career wins, trailing only Dale Kimberling (242), Kevin Bucher (181) and Darren Pannier (108).

Collier went 22-32 in her first two seasons at the helm, but has since led the Lady Roadrunners to a 79-19 record, two national tournament appearances and a Region 16 championship.

Last season, SFCC tied a program record for wins in a season with 29 and picked up a first-round win in the national tournament. Collier was also named the Region 16 Coach of the Year.

“Coach [Kaitlyn Everts] was here my first year, you know, those student-athletes trusted and took a chance on me for a program that was 1-18,” Collier said. “You look back at those; those are the ones that help to build the program, their trust and their grind and their hard work that they put into it. Our GPA, I believe, before I got here was like a 2.5. In my first year, I think it was at a 3.15 or something like that. So, they didn’t just improve us on the floor, they improved us off the floor, and that’s part of those steps and progress in your culture.”

Collier and the Lady Roadrunners are 4-1 so far this season.

Collier picked up win No. 101 with a 73-45 victory over Northwest Mississippi Community College during the Three Rivers Classic on Saturday, Nov. 7. That win followed a 71-63 loss to then-No. 22-ranked Southwestern Illinois College on Friday, Nov. 6.

Collier views the loss as a critical early-season test for this year’s squad.

“I’ve tried really hard to not compare them to last year because our journey will be different,” Collier said. “Our identity and how we do things will be different than last year. Last year, we started 20-0. That’s really, really hard to do. This year, we took one on the chin early, and we’ll learn from it, and we’ll use it to continue to make us better and humble us a little bit. So, 101 came a little bit later, but I believe our game against SWIC will be critical in our growth and just toughening us up a little bit and not accepting failure.”

SFCC, which came in at No. 19 in the most recent NJCAA Division I National Rankings, plays Middlesex College on Thursday, Nov. 12, at Allen Community College.

Sports editor Jack Denebeim can be reached at 660-530-0142.