2010 SACRAMENTO STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
HEAD COACH JAIME CRAIGHEAD
SECOND SEASON | 15-15 (10-6 BIG SKY) | OREGON, ‘02 Head coach Jamie Craighead is entering her second season at the helm of the Sacramento State women’s basketball program. The young coach has turned the Hornets into one of the most explosive teams in the nation as her fast break, uptempo offense led the Big Sky Conference in scoring last year by more than seven points per game. In her first full season as head coach Craighead led the Hornets to a 15-15 overall record and 10-6 mark in Big Sky Conference play, the most league wins in school history. Craighead’s fast-paced style is based on the press and run; playing full-court defense to create turnovers that result in open shots and easy baskets. Sacramento State paced the Big Sky in steals in 2009-10, averaging more than 10 per game. The shot clock is not needed for Craighead’s squad as she encourages her team to take shots early and often. An important part of a team that takes frequent and quick shots is rebounding ability. The Hornets ranked No. 1 in the conference on both the offensive and defensive glass, averaging 16. 8 and 28.3 boards per game in each category, respectively. Before being named the Hornets’ head coach on May 1, 2009, Craighead spent the 2007-08 season as the team’s top assistant, before being promoted to associate head coach by former head coach Dan Muscatell in the summer of 2008. During her two years directing the Sacramento State offense, Craighead helped develop graduated seniors Charday Hunt and Erika Edwards into arguably the conference’s top
1-2 scoring punch. During the 2009-10 season, Hunt and Edwards combined to average 28.5 points per game and knocked down 121 3-point baskets. Hunt earned first-team all-Big Sky Conference honors for her efforts while Edwards was named second-team all-conference. It was the first time in school history that a Hornet was picked both first- and secondteam all-conference in the same season. Prior to her time in the Green and Gold, Craighead spent two years as an assistant at Portland State. A former player at Oregon, Craighead served as the Vikings’ recruiting coordinator and also worked with the post players. In her first year at Portland State, she helped develop a pair of all-conference performers in guard/forward Kelsey Kahle and center Brianna Thompson. Kahle would post the most prolific freshman season in school history, tying for third among the nation’s freshmen in scoring at 17.3 ppg and tied for eighth in rebounding at 8.3 rpg. She would earn first team all-Big Sky honors and was named the conference’s co-outstanding freshman. Prior to working at Portland State, Craighead was an assistant at Div. II powerhouse Seattle Pacific under the guidance of two-time NCAA Division II Coach of the Year Gordy Presnell. Craighead served as Presnell’s top assistant for two seasons, and coached Seattle Pacific to a 99-75 win over Alaska Fairbanks on Dec. 4, 2004, while Presnell was on leave. Seattle Pacific finished the 2004-05 season ranked No. 2 in the nation. While playing at Oregon, the Ducks made three trips to
8 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA GUIDE 2010-11 | BIG SKY CONFERENCE