McNamee Resigns as Irvine Valley Coach

Lisa McNamee, who built the Irvine Valley women’s basketball program from scratch, has resigned to dedicate herself full time to her family’s business, McNamee said Wednesday.

Eric Bangs, McNamee’s assistant for the two years the program has existed, will take over as head coach, Athletic Director Aracely Mora announced.

McNamee was named Orange Empire Conference coach of the year after leading the Lasers to the conference title last season. Now 35, McNamee has coached every year since she was 22, starting as an assistant at Saddleback College. She is 199-75 as a head coach at Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools and at Irvine Valley, where her record was 49-13.

She said she is resigning reluctantly, but that she promised her family she would dedicate herself to the business if it got off the ground. However, she didn’t rule out returning to coaching.

Before joining McNamee at Irvine Valley, Bangs coached for 12 years at Woodbridge High, compiling a 296-69 record, winning 10 league championships, three Southern Section titles and a state title in 1995.