May 25, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Penn State women's basketball coach Coquese Washington has signed a two-year contract extension to coach the Lady Lions through the 2013-14 season, Director of Athletics Tim Curley announced today. In keeping with the University policy, specific terms of the agreement were not released.
"We are very pleased with the progress that our women's basketball program has made under Coquese," Curley said. "With the return to the postseason for the first time in five years and back-to-back nationally-ranked recruiting classes, Coquese has established a solid foundation to put Lady Lion basketball back on the track to national prominence. Her commitment to this program and this community is unparalleled and I look forward to seeing her on the sidelines for many years to come."
"I truly enjoy being the head coach here at Penn State and I am eager to continue the work of rebuilding this program," Washington said. "It is my goal to build a women's basketball program that all Penn Staters can be proud of."
The Lady Lions enjoyed their best season to date under Washington, returning to the postseason for the first time since 2004-05 with a WNIT berth. The Lions also picked up their most overall wins (17) and conference wins (8) since the 2004-05 campaign en route to a sixth-place finish in the Big Ten. Penn State claimed a pair of victories over ranked opponents in #15/15 Pittsburgh and #20/23 Michigan State during the 2009-10 campaign.
Named the fifth head coach in Lady Lion history on April 23, 2007, Washington has produced a trio of All-Big Ten performers during her tenure in Tyra Grant, Brianne O'Rourke and Kam Gissendanner. Grant became just the seventh player in school history to garner consecutive first team All-Big Ten honors. She was also the first Lady Lion under Washington to be selected in the WNBA Draft when the Phoenix Mercury picked her in the second round of this year's draft.
Washington and her staff have garnered back-to-back Top 25 recruiting classes to once again make the Lady Lions a player on the national recruiting stage. The 2010 class is ranked 22nd on the ESPN/HoopGurlz recruiting chart and includes just the second McDonald's High School All-American in Penn State history in Maggie Lucas and WBCA High School All-American Ariel Edwards. Washington's 2009 recruiting class was rated in the Top 20 by many publications, peaking at No. 10 by "Blue Star Basketball." The four-player class featured a pair of All-Americans in Nikki Greene and Alex Bentley.
The Flint, Mich. native is very active in the women's basketball community, serving on the 29-member WBCA Board of Directors and on the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team Committee. Additionally, Washington was tabbed the "Rising Star" in the coaching ranks in a vote of the members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) during the 2007-08 campaign.
Washington has also made a name for herself in the community as a philanthropist. In addition to assisting with the efforts of the WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State to raise money and awareness for breast cancer, Washington created Coquese's Drive for the Women's Resource Center. The two Coquese's Drives raised nearly $19,000 for the Centre County Women's Resource Center to aid in the fight against domestic violence. She is also active in Special Olympics, serving as the honorary chair of the Pennsylvania Summer Games in 2008.
The Lady Lions hold several camps throughout the summer. There is a Lady Lion Basketball Camp available for girls of all ages, ranging from shooting camp to elite camp. The 2010 Lady Lion Basketball Camp schedule is as follows: Shooting Camp (June 13-15), Elite Camp (June 20-22), Skills Camp (June 20-23), Total Package Team Camp (June 24-26) and Games Galore Team Camp (August 6-8). For more information on Lady Lion Basketball Camps, please visit psusportscamps.com and click on Lady Lion Basketball Camp.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow head coach Coquese Washington (@psucoachquese), sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and assistant coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook. Search Lady Lion Basketball and become a fan.