appearance since 2000. Under Henrickson’s guidance that season, Kansas finished 17-13 to mark its first winning season in six years. Along the way, KU set a school record with 12-straight victories to open the season and snapped a 36-game drought against ranked opponents by defea ng No. 23 Texas.
years. A er serving as assistant coach for the Hokies from 198893, Henrickson was elevated to associate head coach for the 1993-94 season. That year, Virginia Tech improved its record to 24-6 and made its first-ever NCAA appearance. The following season Tech recorded its first NCAA tournament win.
Using the quali es that earned her the 2005 Carol Eckman Award -- an award given by the WBCA which recognizes a coach who exemplifies spirit, integrity and character through sportsmanship, commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage and dedica on to purpose -- Henrickson developed Crystal Kemp and Erica Hallman into All-Big 12 selec ons for the second-straight year.
Henrickson took her talents to the University of Iowa to serve as an assistant coach in 1995-96. Her two-year s nt at Iowa produced two Big Ten Championships and a Sweet 16 appearance in 1996. In her two years, Iowa had a record of 45-14.
In 2004-05, Kansas posted its most wins (12) and conference wins (five) in four seasons, and placed eighth in the Big 12 Conference -- the highest Jayhawk finish in five years. In the process, Henrickson developed Kemp and Hallman into KU’s first two All-Big 12 selec ons since 2000-01. Henrickson and her staff have not only guided their athletes to victories on the court, but many have achieved tremendous accomplishments in the classroom at KU. Under Henrickson, the overall team GPA has steadily risen since she arrived in Lawrence and during the 2007-08 school year the Jayhawks achieved a team-record 3.11 GPA. In her seven seasons, the Jayhawks have earned 24 Academic All-Big 12 Team appointments. Henrickson arrived at KU a er establishing herself as one of the na on’s brightest young coaches at Virginia Tech, where she was head coach for seven seasons and guided the Hokies to a record of 158-62 and seven postseason appearances. Under her leadership, Virginia Tech reached the NCAA tournament five mes, the WNIT twice and won 20 or more games every season. In 2003-04, Henrickson led the Hokies to a 23-8 overall record, including a 10-6 mark in the Big East. Virginia Tech advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the secondstraight year before bowing out to No. 5 Penn State. When Henrickson took over at Virginia Tech for the 1997-98 season, she orchestrated the biggest turnaround in school history. She guided her team to a 22-10 record, the school’s first Atlan c 10 Conference tle and an NCAA second-round appearance just one season a er the Hokies had finished last in the Atlan c 10 Conference with a 10-21 record. Henrickson, who owns a total of 20 years of coaching experience, has helped guide teams to postseason play 13 of the last 15
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In July 2000, she was the head coach of the gold-medal winning women’s USA Basketball team that traveled to Taiwan for the R. William Jones Cup compe on. This appointment marked her second s nt with a USA Basketball team; she also served as an assistant coach on the Team USA squad which won the silver medal at the 1999 World University Games. Her 1998-99 Hokies posted a school-best 28-3 record, including a 15-1 conference record and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16. For her efforts, Henrickson was named Atlan c 10 Coach of the Year. She also was a finalist for na onal coach of the year honors.
During her first s nt at Tech, Henrickson was credited with recrui ng some of the Hokies’ biggest stars, including AllAmerican Lisa Witherspoon, Virginia Tech career sta s cal leaders Michelle Houseright and Ka e O’Connor, three- me GTE Academic All-American Chris Osborne and honorable men on All-American Jenny Root, who finished her career as the Hokies’ all- me leading rebounder. Henrickson, a Willmar, Minn., na ve, graduated from St. Cloud State University in 1986. As a player, she helped SCSU win three Northern Sun Conference championships and advance to three NCAA Division II quarterfinals. In her four years as a player, SCSU compiled a 97-25 overall record, including a 31-4 mark in her sophomore season. She s ll ranks among the school leaders in points (4th - 1,731), rebounds (3rd - 995), free throws (1st - 507) and free throw percentage (4th - .790). She also was named to the all-conference team three mes. Henrickson served as team captain her junior and senior years. She earned her master’s degree in physical educa on in 1988 from Western Illinois University while serving as a graduate assistant coach with the women’s basketball team.