@UNCBearsWBB Ethridge Departs for Washington State

Photo by: Rob Trubia

4/15/2018 1:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Northern Colorado women's basketball head coach Kamie Ethridge accepts a job as the head coach of Washington State University

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Kamie Ethridge, who brought Northern Colorado women's basketball to its first Division NCAA Tournament in 2017-18, has stepped down to accept the job as the head women's basketball coach at Washington State University.

"Today is a bittersweet moment for me. I am leaving the day to day presence of players, friends, athletic administrators, and a university that I will always love, respect and feel a tremendous sense of gratitude for. I could not have been afforded a better first head coaching job, environment, or opportunity than the one I was given at The University of Northern Colorado. I will forever feel a part of the Bear Family."

Ethridge took over the program prior to the 2014-15 season and put together an 83-44 record while the head coach of Northern Colorado. She led the team to its first NCAA Tournament this past season and was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year. As the leader of the Bears, Ethridge eclipsed the 20 win mark three times in four seasons, including setting a program-record with 26 wins in 2017-18.

"Coach Ethridge helped guide the Northern Colorado women's basketball program to new heights over the past four years," Director of Athletics Darren Dunn said. "We greatly appreciate her and her staff's hard work and commitment to excellence both on and off the basketball court. She has elevated the expectations for the program, which we look forward to building on. We want to thank Coach Ethridge for the time and commitment she has given to Northern Colorado women's basketball and the athletic department as a whole while a Bear."

The 2017-18 season under the leadership of Ethridge was the most successful in UNC women's basketball history. The Bears won both the Big Sky regular season and tournament championships and earned the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Northern Colorado started the year by defeated its first Top 25 ranked team, winning at No. 20/25 DePaul on opening night 94-88. The team racked up a program record 26 wins including over SEC member LSU and swept the challenging Montana road trip for the first time. She also coached the Big Sky MVP in Savannah Smith, Defensive Player of the Year in Kianna Williams and second team All-Big Sky member Savannah Scott.

Overall, during her time at Northern Colorado, Ethridge coached two Big Sky MVPs (D'shara Strange & Savannah Smith), one Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year (Kianna Williams) and six All-Big Sky Honorees.

While Ethridge departs, UNC returns three of its five starters from last season's team, including Big Sky MVP Savannah Smith. Joining Smith from the lineup will be guard Krystal Leger-Walker and center Bridget Hintz. The Bears will also return six of its nine letterwinners from the 2017-18 team.

Northern Colorado will immediately begin a national search for its next head women's basketball head coach.

To stay up to date on all things UNC women's basketball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsWBB.

Ethridge at UNC

2014-15	22-13 (15-5 Big Sky)	Third place Big Sky, WNIT 3rd Round
2015-16	13-16 (8-10 Big Sky)	Ninth place Big Sky, Big Sky Tournament 1st Round
2016-17	22-8 (14-4 Big Sky)	Third place Big Sky, Big Sky Tournament Quarterfinals
2017-18	26-7 (15-3 Big Sky)	Big Sky regular season & tournament champs, NCAA 1st Round