"Loree is such a competitor and she has a tremendous passion for the game and for teaching. Her commitment to excellence has been a driver for her whole life. She cares deeply about the development of her student-athletes both on and off the court. NAU is getting a great coach, person and mentor for young women and she's going to do great things there."

- Jennifer Cohen, Director of Athletics at University of Washington 

"NAU has hit a home run in the hiring of Coach Payne because of her ethics, dedication to the game, leadership and commitment to the total experience for each of her student-athletes. She has a great reputation with high school and AAU coaches and will be able to continue to recruit outstanding student-athletes to the basketball family. The fans will enjoy the hard-nosed style of play and high-scoring offense."

- June Daugherty, Head Women's Basketball Coach at Washington State University and former Head Women's Basketball Coach at University of Washington

"Loree had a tremendous impact on the student-athletes who she's coached at Puget Sound. Obviously she's a great teacher of the game, but more importantly she develops, cares for and graduates strong, confident, and successful women. She developed a culture of clear and thoughtful communication cemented on the premise of team-first. That's what resonates with me when I think about Loree; not only her ability to teach the game, but her ability to develop young women to be their personal best."

"I have nothing but good things to say about Coach Payne. Northern Arizona is so lucky, and I can't stress that enough. Coach Payne is so organized, and she does such an amazing job of balancing business with fun. My four years at University of Puget Sound were amazing and I owe so much of that to her. She's definitely the best coach I've ever had."