Taira Roth

Sport: Women's Basketball
Year: Second Season
Position: Assistant Coach

Taira Roth is starting her second season as an assistant coach for the Truman women’s basketball program in 2009. Roth came to Truman prior to the 2008 season after spending one year at Lake Superior (Mich.) State.

Roth has ties with two other programs from within the MIAA in Missouri Western and Central Missouri and has a career record of 148-64 during her career as a player and coach. She was a two-time female scholar athlete of the year at Missouri Western where she was a member of both the women’s basketball and golf teams and was a member of the 2002 MIAA championship team. That squad posted a 27-3 record and a 16-2 MIAA mark, including the MIAA postseason tournament championship.

The following season, Roth’s Griffons were 23-8 and were the runner-up in the conference tournament but did advance to the NCAA Division II Regional for the second consecutive year.

Roth was part of the inaugural Missouri Western women’s golf program and earned National Golf Coaches Association all-American Scholar accolades in 2004.

After graduating from Missouri Western with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation Administration, Roth joined her collegiate coach, Dave Slifer, at the University of Central Missouri as a graduate assistant coach. In her two seasons at Central, the Jennies went 45-18 and made two more NCAA tournament appearances.

She completed her master’s degree in Physical Education from Central and then became an assistant coach at Lake Superior (Mich.) State, a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) and NCAA Division II.

Roth has also served as an assistant golf professional at Shiloh Springs Golf Club in Platte City, Mo.