Western Oregon Hires East Bay Assistant To Coach Basketball
- June 6, 2013
MONMOUTH, Ore. - Holli Howard-Carpenter, who has spent the last three seasons serving as the associate head coach at Cal State East Bay, has been tabbed to be the next head coach for the Western Oregon women's basketball program.
"Holli has been part of a very successful program at Chico State and has been an important part of rebuilding the Cal State East Bay women's basketball program," WOU interim athletic director Jon Carey said.
“Throughout the process, it was clear Holli would do a great job of ensuring our student-athletes would have a terrific experience at WOU. She is ready to be a head coach and we are thrilled to have her joining the Wolves.”
Howard-Carpenter joins WOU from Cal State East Bay where she helped lead a turnaround of the Pioneers women's basketball program.
Cal State East Bay finished its 2012-13 season with an overall mark of 16-11, the best record for the program since the 2005-06 season. The Pioneers finished the season ranked third in the nation in scoring defense (51.1 points per game) and seventh in the country in field-goal percentage defense (33.9).
“I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to lead the women's basketball program at Western Oregon University as I could not ask for a more amazing place to live and work,” Howard-Carpenter said.
“I look forward to joining the Western Oregon athletic family as well as the community. I'm excited for the opportunity to coach this group of student-athletes and help them reach their academic, athletic and personal goals.”
During the 2011-12 season, Howard-Carpenter helped guide the Pioneers to their first-ever CCAA postseason appearance as Cal State East Bay finished the season with 12 victories. The wins were the most for the program since the 2007-08 season as the Pioneers tripled their win total from the previous year.
Throughout her career at Cal State East Bay, the Pioneers have also had tremendous success in the classroom. Following the 2011-12 season, Cal State East Bay earned the No. 24 spot on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Academic Team Honor Roll.
As a team, the Pioneers compiled a 3.43 team GPA and was the only CCAA squad to earn a spot in the Academic Team Honor Roll. Since Howard-Carpenter joined the Pioneers, the program has had nine student-athletes selected to the CCAA All-Academic squad.
Prior to her arrival at Cal State East Bay, Howard-Carpenter spent four seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at Chico State.
During her tenure at Chico State, Howard-Carpenter helped guide the Wildcats to four CCAA tournament appearances and three NCAA Women's Basketball Championship berths, including two trips to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16.
In her second season on the sideline, Chico State captured the CCAA tournament and regular season titles, During her three seasons, the Wildcats posted a 91-34 overall record and a 62-22 mark in conference play under her watch.
Before taking the position at Chico State, Howard-Carpenter spent four years teaching and coaching high school basketball at Orland High School (2002-04) and Willows High School (2004-06). She also has extensive experience as a coach and counselor at girls' basketball camps.
An Academic All-American at Cal State East Bay, Howard-Carpenter served as team captain, earned California Pacific Conference honorable mention honors and was voted as the team's Most Inspirational Player. She also served as a resident assistant in student housing as a senior at East Bay.
Howard-Carpenter also played two seasons of softball for the Pioneers and two seasons at the College of the Siskiyous, where she earned first-team all-conference honors as a team captain.
The standout athlete also played three seasons with the Redding Rage of the Independent Women's Football League, earning two Most Valuable Player awards and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Howard-Carpenter is a 2012 graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy and a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Alliance of Women Coaches. She also attended the NCAA Women's Leadership Symposium in Sacramento in the spring of 2011.
A 2002 graduate of Cal State Hayward, Howard-Carpenter earned her bachelor's degree in history before going on to complete her master's in kinesiology at Chico State in 2008.