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Auburn Names Williams-Flournoy Women's Coach
AUBURN-Terri
Williams-Flournoy, who spent the previous eight seasons as the head
coach at Georgetown, has been named the women's head basketball coach
at Auburn, announced Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs Monday.
Williams-Flournoy, who led the Hoyas to three-consecutive NCAA
Tournament appearances from 2010-12, becomes the sixth head coach in
Auburn's history. Williams-Flournoy will be formally introduced as
Auburn's head coach on Tuesday.
A 20-year coaching veteran,
Williams-Flournoy led Georgetown to a four-year run from 2008-12, that
was the most successful period in the program's history, while posting
an overall mark of 143-104 during her eight-year tenure. In the
last four seasons, the Hoyas were 93-41, advancing to the NCAA
tournament in 2010, '11, and '12, while making a Sweet 16 appearance in
2011. They were a WNIT quarterfinalist in 2009.
"We are thrilled
to welcome Terri Williams-Flournoy into the Auburn Family," Jacobs
said. "Coach Williams-Flourney has achieved success at every level of
her basketball career as a player, assistant and head coach. She has an
understanding of what it takes to be successful in the Southeastern
Conference and brings a tremendous desire to win championships at
Auburn. We welcome Terri, her husband Eric and two children to the
Auburn family."
Prior to her arrival at Georgetown, she was a
successful assistant for 12 years at Southwest Missouri State
(2002-04), Georgia (1996-2002), and Georgetown (1992-96),
posting a record of 251-116. During her 20-year coaching career,
Williams-Flourney has been a part of three programs that have made 12
NCAA Tournament appearances, including five that advanced to the Sweet
16 or beyond. She was part of a Georgia program that advanced to the
1999 Final Four and Elite Eight in 1997 and 2000.
"I am
extremely excited for the opportunity to lead the women's basketball
program at Auburn," Williams-Flournoy said. "I'm very appreciative to
President Jay Gogue, Jay Jacobs and Meredith Jenkins for giving me the
chance to guide this team and I am looking forward to joining the
Auburn family."
In 2011-12, Williams-Flournoy's Hoyas advanced
to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 23-9
record, while finishing fourth in the Big EAST. Georgetown defeated two
top-ten teams, beating No. 10 Georgia and No. 7 Miami, and finished the
regular season ranked 17th nationally. This season the Hoyas entered
NCAA Tournament play ranked sixth nationally in field goal percentage
defense and eighth in the country in scoring defense. Junior Sugar
Rodgers was a unanimous first-team All-Big EAST selection and was an
honorable mention All-America selection.
Williams-Flournoy
helped Georgetown return to the Sweet 16 in 2010-11 posting an overall
record of 24-11 and a mark of 9-7 in the BIG EAST. The Hoyas defeated
five ranked teams, including Tennessee, and were ranked in both the AP
and ESPN/USA Today Polls for the entire year, at one point reaching No.
11 on the AP Poll and No. 12 on the ESPN/USA Today Poll. Georgetown
finished the season with an RPI of 12, as well as being ranked 23rd and
14th on the AP and the ESPN/USA Today Polls, respectively.
The
Hoyas tied for seventh in league play and earned their
second-consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament where the Hoyas
advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history.
Georgetown fell in the Round of 16 to Connecticut, 68-63, despite
leading almost the entire game.
During the summer of 2011,
Williams-Flournoy was named an assistant coach for Team USA for the
World University Games in Shenzhen, China. The team won a gold medal in
competition.
In 2009-10, she led the squad to a 26-7 overall
record and finished second in BIG EAST conference play with a 13-3
mark. Georgetown posted a 16-game win streak during the season and
spent 12 weeks in the national rankings. The Hoyas earned the program's
second bid to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round.
The
Hoyas led the nation in turnover margin (+8.12) in 2009-10 with a
fast-paced tempo and also ranked third in steals per game (12.9).
Individual honors followed with two players earning All-BIG EAST, a BIG
EAST Rookie of the Year and an Honorable Mention All-America award.
Williams-Flournoy was also named the Coach of the Year by the Black
Coaches Association.
The previous season, Williams-Flournoy led
the Hoyas to a 20-14 overall record and the program's first 20-win
season since 1992-93. The Hoyas had an impressive run through the WNIT
advancing to the quarterfinals and going further than any team had
advanced in postseason play in the program's history.
Williams-Flournoy
took over the Georgetown program on Aug. 27, 2004, becoming just the
sixth women's basketball head coach in school history.
During
her two seasons as an assistant at Southwest Missouri State (now
Missouri State), Williams-Flournoy was a part of two-straight NCAA
Tournaments and two-consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Championships. The 2003-04 team finished the season with a 28-4 record
and won the regular-season MVC Championship.
At Georgia,
Williams-Flournoy was recruiting coordinator for the program during a
time when Georgia made six-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. During
Williams-Flournoy's tenure, the Bulldogs won SEC titles in 1997 and
2000, the SEC Tournament in 2001 and produced seven WNBA players.
Williams-Flournoy's
four-year stint at Georgetown as an assistant saw the Hoyas achieve
great success in her first season (1992-93), as Georgetown earned a BIG
EAST Championship and its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament,
finishing the year with a 23-7 overall mark, advancing to the Sweet 16.
Williams-Flournoy was responsible for all aspects of recruiting and
scouting along with conditioning, game planning and academic monitoring.
A
1991 graduate of Penn State University with a degree in business
management, Williams-Flournoy was a four-year letterwinner player for
the Lady Lions under former coach Rene Portland. Penn State won the
Atlantic 10 Conference championship in each of Williams-Flournoy's last
two seasons as a player and was a participant in the NCAA Tournament in
three of Williams-Flournoy's four seasons. In 1988, 1990 and 1991
Williams-Flournoy and the Lady Lions advanced to the second round of
the NCAA Tournament and in 1991, Penn State was ranked No. 1 in the
country.
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