Old Dominion names Nikki McCray-Penson women's hoops coach

Posted May 24, 2017 7:00 am

The Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Old Dominion has hired Nikki McCray-Penson as its women's basketball coach.

McCray-Penson has been an assistant at South Carolina since 2008. The Gamecocks won the 2017 national championship. She replaces Karen Barefoot, who resigned three weeks ago to take over at UNC-Wilmington.

The former star at Tennessee and in the WNBA and two-time Olympic gold medalist arrives just as Old Dominion is set to open an $8.4 million practice facility.

At Old Dominion, she takes over a once-storied program that has won over 1,000 games and three national championships, but struggled under Barefoot. Her record for six seasons was just 103-93 and the Lady Monarchs never reached the NCAA Tournament.

Athletic director Wood Selig says McCray-Penson was chosen from a field of more than 100 applicants.

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