For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 6, 2003
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

LADY BRONCS NAME JILL DAVIS ASSISTANT BASKETBALL COACH

EDINBURG, TX-The University of Texas-Pan American's women's basketball team has a new assistant women's basketball coach.

Jill Davis, who served as the assistant coach at Texas Woman's University last season, will join the Lady Bronc staff, effective June 1. Davis replaces Kate Galligan, who resigned recently to pursue other opportunities.

Davis, a 2000 graduate of Lamar University, served as an assistant coach under current Texas-Pan American head coach DeAnn Craft at Lamar after completing her playing career there.

A native of New Boston, Texas, Davis was a four-year starter at New Boston High School, and helped lead her team to a 110-12 record. After starring at NBHS, Davis played two years at Midland College, where her team went 50-14, and was nationally ranked. She averaged eight points per game at Midland, made 76 three-point field goals, and added 191 assists while playing for former Texas-Pan American player Ron Jones.

At Lamar, Davis started 40 of the team's 43 games. She was second in scoring as a junior, averaging 9.3 points per game, and averaged 8.5 points per game as a senior despite being injured. She scored 385 points and made 54 three-pointers for the Cardinals. After earning a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at LU, Davis served as an assistant coach for two seasons, then moved onto to TWU. Last season, the Pioneers advanced to the Lone Star Conference playoffs for the first time in seven years, upset 10th-ranked Angelo State, and swept Texas A&M-Kingsville for the first time in 13 years.

"Jill is an established recruiter with tremendous ties to the state of Texas," said Craft. "We need to establish UTPA as a viable option for Texas prep players, and Jill is committed to the challenge here, and will be a dynamic sell for our program and for UTPA. She knows my system, having been both a former player and an assistant coach under me, and that's a great advantage, with so many new players coming on board. Jill is a great addition to our staff. Her strong work ethic, combined with her positive approach with players, makes her the perfect fit for us."

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to work at Texas-Pan American, and to rejoin Coach Craft," said Davis. "I was very impressed with everything that UTPA had to offer, and I'm hoping to help build UTPA into a consistent contender. Coach Craft knows how to build a program the right way. When I came down to interview, I was very impressed that the administration is committed to building the program the right way, and I wanted to be a part of that."


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