She was also a star softball player, garnering four First Team All-State selections as a shortstop while leading Ankeny to three state championships in 1979, 1980 and 1981.

She scored 2,010 points, which ranks third all-time in Bluejays' women's basketball history, and she is also near (or at) the top of numerous other school records as well, resulting in her induction to the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame and having her jersey number (#25) retired:[2] Source[7] Yori began her coaching career at her alma mater in 1986, the same year she graduated in May 1986 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Yori's first head coaching job was at Loras College, a Division III institution in Dubuque, Iowa.

She had immediate success in her first season as she led the Bluejays to the school's second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, earning the 10th-seed in the Midwest Region.

[2] The Bluejays, seeded 12th in the Mideast Region, would lose to Florida International University in the first round 73–58.

[2] They won their first regular season conference title, but were upset by Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

After posting 83–44 and 83–70 victories over Northern Iowa and UCLA, respectively, Nebraska advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

[5] Yori posted a record of 280–166 and led the Huskers to a pair of conference titles and seven trips to the NCAA Tournament.