Phone: 814-863-2672 Email: knd2@psu.edu
Damon, who is in her eighth season with the Penn State blue and white, serves as the Lady Lions' offensive coordinator and under her influence, the Lady Lions have led the Big Ten in scoring two of the last three seasons and in 2011, Penn State led the nation in three-point shooting. In addition, Damon coaches the wings and plays a vital role in opponent scouting. Damon will also play a major role in recruiting for the Lady Lions, having served as the recruiting coordinator for the last four years.
"Kia is an invaluable member of our coaching staff," Washington said. "She has been with us for all eight years and has played a major role in the successes our program has enjoyed. She is very skilled in player development, elevating the basketball skills, personal growth and mental toughness of our wings. In addition, she serves as our offensive coordinator and has developed an offensive style of play that is fun for our players to play, truly enjoyable for our staff to coach, and exciting for our fans to watch."
Damon molded wing Ariel Edwards into an All-Big Ten first team selection her senior season. Edwards finished seventh in the Big Ten in scoring (15.7) and 11th in free throw percentage (.814). She also became the 36th member of Penn State's 1,000-point club and ended her career 34th on the list (1,054) and 14th in career free throw percentage (.784).
In 2012-13, Damon continued to develop Edwards into a solid offensive and defensive weapon for the Lady Lions. Edwards improved her scoring average for the second-straight season, chipping in 7.9 points per game. She also tallied 10 blocks and 10 steals while drawing some of the opponents' most athletic players. Damon also worked with Gizelle Studevent, who posted career high in points (61). Studevent also excelled off the court where she was honored as an inaugural member of the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team for her efforts with the creation of the anti-bullying program Penn State Athletes Take Action.In her fifth season, Damon played an active role in the growth of Edwards who was a solid reserve for the Lady Lions in her freshman season to a part-time starter as a sophomore. Edwards increased her scoring output by 141.4% (7.0-2.9) and rebounding average by 126.3% (4.3-1.9). Edwards also nabbed a career-high 22 steals and dished out a personal-best 32 assists.
Damon played a key role in the development of Julia Trogele into an all-conference performer her senior year. With Damon's guidance, Trogele averaged personal bests of 9.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals en route to All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades in 2010-11. Trogele ranked seventh in the Big Ten in rebounding, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Trogele, who finished her career with 803 points and 690 rebounds, is fifth on the Lady Lions' all-time free throw shooting chart with an .817 effort from the charity stripe in four seasons.
Under Damon's tutelage Tyra Grant became one of the most prolific scorers in Penn State history. Grant garnered first team All-Big Ten accolades for the second consecutive season after finishing second in the league in scoring with a 19.3 average. She also became just the fourth Lady Lion in program history to surpass the 2,000 point mark with a 32-point performance against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament. Grant finished her outstanding collegiate career by being selected in the second round of the WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury.
Damon guided Grant to first team All-Big Ten honors in 2008-09 as she finished second in the conference and 18th in the country with a 19.6 scoring average. Grant was the 10th player in school history to earn first team All-Big Ten accolades. Additionally, Grant became the 14th junior in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark.
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In 2007-08, Damon coached Grant, who finished ninth in the Big Ten in scoring, to All-Big Ten honorable mention accolades. Additionally, Kam Gissendanner signed a free agent contract with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks under Damon's tutelage.
Damon came to Happy Valley after five seasons at the University of Massachusetts. She served as the recruiting coordinator at UMass in her final two seasons where she was responsible for all aspects of recruiting, including prospect evaluation, home visits and management of the recruiting database. She also dealt with player development for the post and perimeter players and assisted in the scouting of opponents. While at UMass, Damon helped lead the Minutemen to their most successful season in 10 years with a 17-12 mark in 2006-07. She also recruited and developed a third team All-Atlantic 10 choice and two members of the 2004-05 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team.
Damon spent three seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator prior to her move to Massachusetts. During her tenure at FDU, Damon helped produce two first team All-Northeast Conference selections, as well as an All-Rookie team choice. In a two-year stint at Wisconsin-Green Bay, Damon helped the Phoenix earn back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths, including one appearance under head coach Kevin Borseth.
As a player, Damon led Millersville (Pa.) University to the PSAC Tournament twice. She is eighth on the Mauraders' all-time three-point field goals list with 88. Damon won the award as Millersville's top offensive player in back-to-back seasons and was the Co-Sixth Player of the Year in 1995.
Damon was a member of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith selection committee for four seasons (2009-13). She has also participated in the "So You Want to be a Coach" program at the Women's Final Four.
Damon graduated from Millersville with a bachelor's degree in speech communication in 1997 and earned her master's degree in corporate communication from Fairleigh Dickinson in 2006.