Kira Mowen is coming home.
Well, almost.
The 2003 Waynesboro Area Senior High School graduate, who went on to play college basketball at the University of Illinois and Youngstown State and continued as a graduate assistant (Texas State), assistant coach (Davidson, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Monmouth), and, most recently as a head coach (Knox College), recently was hired to be the Millersville University head coach.
Mowen officially begins her head coaching duties on Monday at the Lancaster-county University, which competes as an NCAA Division II school in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
“Millersville is returning a great core group,” Mowen said. “I’ll be hitting the ground running when I relocate from Illinois. Millersville has a great tradition, and I want to continue that tradition. I want to be in the top four in the whole PSAC. With what they have returning and what they have, it is attainable.”
Mowen said she has met the team virtually and will see them as a group in person once the fall semester gets underway in August.
“What stands out about Kira is her passion for the game and for developing student-athletes, which aligns with our core values,” said Millersville University Director of Athletics Miles Gallagher. “She is a true leader, and energy and drive make her a great fit at Millersville. Kira is also a proven winner as a head coach. We are excited for her to lead the Millersville women’s basketball program.”
Mowen spent the previous two seasons at Division III Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. There, she guided the Prairie Fire to its best season in program history during the 2022-23 campaign and was honored as the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year Award winner. Led by Mowen, Knox finished 22-6, won the school’s first-ever conference tournament, and competed in its first-ever national tournament.
“I had the opportunity to come closer to home and being closer to everything I knew growing up,” said Mowen, who is happy to have the chance to be closer to her parents Doug and Diana and recruiting talent in her home state.
“I think the crazy thing is when I was growing up I had no intention of coming home. It’s been 20 years since I graduated from high school. Finding a job in Pennsylvania – coaching in the state I love and recruiting in the state I love – now is the time for me to come back and see what I can do. I grew up watching Shippensburg (University) and the PSAC.”
In the years that followed Mowen, a 1,000-point scorer for the Maidens, continued to forge her path as a college player and then in the coaching ranks.
“The one thing you’re going to see from me, and the team is passion,” said Mowen, who will soon begin to build a staff around her. “Passion is the first value that I believe in – passion for the fundamentals and passion for being on the team.”
After passion comes hard work and discipline, said Mowen, whose goal at Millersville is to “play fast, up-
