GLENVILLE — Kim Stephens was officially welcomed as Glenville State’s 10th women’s basketball coach Monday in a press conference at the Harry Heflin Administration Building.
The former Glenville State standout and Parkersburg South graduate takes over for Charles Marshall, who took a similar position at West Virginia State a few weeks back.
Stephens has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Sacramento State.
“When I came here a few weeks ago to interview, I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave sunny California,” the 27-year-old Stephens said. “But once I got here, saw the friendly and familiar faces, I knew this was where I needed to be.
“It’s definitely a dream come true for me. What sealed it was when I met with the players. The one thing I wanted the most as a player was to cut down the nets which I got to experience here and that’s something I believe these girls are all-in on.”
The new home of the GSC basketball programs, the WACO Center, also was key in Stephens accepting the position.
“Sacramento State is in the Big Sky Conference, and the WACO Center would be one of the nicest arena in that league,” she said. “With that and the diehard fan base we have, this is a great place to be.”
The Pioneer’s women’s program has been one of the tops in the Atlantic Region of Division II basketball since the turn of the century, averaging 25 wins per season with eight league titles.
Stephens served as an assistant at GSC in 2012-13 when the Pioneers went 27-4.
“I know what coach Marshall and the coaches before him ran here,” Stephens said. “It’s called the system, and we will continue to run it with some tweaks of course. I played in it and have coached in it so I do know what it’s about.
“We will use pressure defense the whole game and play as uptempo as possible. I think the girls wanted to continue that.”
Stephens is a 2011 graduate of Glenville State with a bachelor’s degree in sports management and a minor in psychology. She earned a master’s degree in education from Ohio Valley University in 2012.
She served as a team captain her senior season (2010-2011), helping the Pioneers to the WVIAC title that season. She was named the league’s student-athlete of the year, as well.
Stephens comes from a basketball family, as her father, Scott, is the girls basketball coach at Parkersburg South High School and played collegiately at Pitt and Ohio University. Her sisters, Ann and Jill, played at the University of Cincinnati.
Sports writer Greg Talkington can be reached at 304-626-1406 or by email at gtalkington@theet.com
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