The Winthrop Eagles women's basketball team represents

Winthrop University Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, a ...

in Rock Hill,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, United States and competes in the

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

History

Winthrop began play in 1969. From 1982 to 1986, they played in the NAIA before joining the NCAA in 1986. They made an appearance in the WNIT in 2013, their first postseason appearance in school history. They beat Florida Gulf Coast 65–51 to win their first ever postseason game before they lost to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

85–53 in the Second Round. In 2014, they won the Big South Conference tournament and won the bid to go to the NCAA Tournament, both firsts for the program. They lost 87–45 to

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in the First Round.

Lynette Woodard Era (2017–2020)

On March 28, 2017,

Lynette Woodard Lynette Woodard (born August 12, 1959) is an American basketball player and former head women's basketball coach at Winthrop University. Woodward played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. She became the first female member of the Harle ...

was named head coach of Winthrop. The season before Woodard took over as head coach, WU was 1–17 (.056) in conference play and 2–29 (.065) overall. They also suffered the worst loss in the history of women's NCAA basketball to Baylor, losing by 108 points . During her tenure, WU improved its record to 8–28 (.285) in conference play and 13–47 (.276) overall. Woodard was fired on March 24, 2020.

Semeka Randall Era (2021–present)

Former WNBA player and

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

alum,

Semeka Randall Semeka Chantay Randall-Lay (born February 7, 1979) is the current head coach for the Winthrop Eagles women's basketball team. She is also a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was hired as recruiting coordinator at Wright S ...

was named head coach in April 2021.

Facilities

The Lady Eagles play in

Winthrop Coliseum Winthrop Coliseum is a 6,100-seat multi-purpose arena in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was built in 1982 and is home to the Winthrop University Eagles basketball and volleyball teams. The facility accommodates conventions, trade shows, concerts, ...

(1982–present), a 6,100-seat multi-purpose arena in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the most populous city in York County, South Carolina, United States, and the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 5th-most populous city in the state. It is also the 4th-most populous city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, be ...

NCAA tournament results

Player awards

Big South Women's Basketball Player of the Year

* Dequesha McClanaahan (2012, 2013, 2014)

Big South Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year

* Katherine Kitchin (1995) * Ashley Fann (2006) * Dequesha McClanahan (2011) * Schaquilla Nunn (2013)

Big South Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year

* Schaquilla Nunn (2015) * Aliyah Kilpatrick (2016) Big South Women's Basketball 2010-19 All-Decade Team * Schaquilla Nunn * Dequesha McClanahan

NCAA statistical leaders

* In 2012, Diana Choibekova led the nation in three-point field goal average (3.9 per game).

WNBA players

* Schaquilla Nunn – 25th overall pick of the 2017 WNBA Draft (

San Antonio Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before th ...

)

References

External links

* {{Big South Conference women's basketball navbox