Gunnare reached 400th win as T-Bird Coach, ends season with 425

Dwight Gunnare, head coach of the Casper College Women’s Basketball team. (Casper College photo)

Dwight Gunnare, head coach of the Casper College Lady Thunderbirds basketball team, reached a career milestone on Nov. 24, 2023, with his 400th Casper College win. He ended the season with a total of 425 wins at Casper College.

The milestone occurred during a home game against the North Idaho College Cardinals, where the T-Birds won 85-64.

“I am proud of the fact that our program has now eclipsed 400 wins during my tenure,” said Gunnare. And, in true Gunnare fashion, he gave others credit as well: “A lot of people play a role in this accomplishment, including my assistant coaches, our campus community, administration, and most importantly, our athletes,” he said, adding, “I have had the opportunity to coach a lot of great basketball players that were also outstanding young adults.”

The 2023-2024 basketball season was a winning one for Gunnare and Assistant Coach Nate Macy. The Thunderbirds won the Region IX North Sub-Region Basketball tournament, the Region IX Basketball Tournament, and their first-round game in the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, beating 19th-seeded Blinn College Buccaneers 72-61.

The 14th-seeded T-Birds then took on the third-seeded Northwest Florida State Raiders in the second round. In the second half, the Raiders’ defense dampened the T-Birds’ solid shooting skills, which the Birds demonstrated in the first half when they were ahead 47-38. The Raiders, the defending national champions, ousted the Birds, winning the game 76-69.

At the end of the season, with 15 seasons as head coach, Gunnare’s Thunderbirds have won 425 games, a testament to his coaching skills. Next season promises to be a winning one, as Gunnare had to replace only four sophomores from the 2023-2024 team. Last year’s 11 freshmen will enter the season as sophomores hungry to take the team to another national tournament, and Gunnare will be right by their side to help them get there.

​