UNH grad Edwards tabbed as women's hoops assistant

The Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team will have a new assistant coach for the 2010-2011 season. Whitney Edwards has been hired to serve under Head Coach Cheryl Cole.

“Whitney’s definitely going to be a huge part of this team,” Cole said. “Her as a coach will help fully bring out our players’ potential.”

Edwards joins a PSUC team that finished 4-20 and which lost its former assistant coach prior to the beginning of the 2009-10 season. The team had multiple volunteer assistants but was without a full-time assistant, something that Cole said was difficult for the players and her at times.

“Recruiting is such a big part of collegiate coaching,” Cole said. “Having some help with that plus coaching our current players during practices and games will be a real asset.”

Edwards’ selection comes after a lengthy search that eventually came down to three candidates. Edwards was chosen, in part, because of her familiarity with the central and southern New York area and its basketball players. Many of last year’s players lived south of the Schenectady and Glens Falls area.

“I had never been on the Plattsburgh campus before I considered the job,” Edwards said. “After spending time here, though, I quickly began to like the area so I’m really looking forward to working here.”

A native of Mount Vernon, Edwards played four years as a guard at the University of New Hampshire. Known for her passing and defense, Edwards holds UNH’s record for career steals and is second all-time in assists.

Following her days as a Wildcat, she played one season for the Spartak Myjava Basketball Club in Slovakia. For the past two years, Edwards has coached two New York AAU teams along with serving as the head coach for girl’s team at Convent of Sacred Heart in Connecticut.

Edwards will not arrive in Plattsburgh until Aug. 16, but she and Cole are already strategizing and collaborating for the regular season. The Lady Cards have lost two seniors but are expecting nearly a dozen potential players in the fall.

“I’m real eager to get to Plattsburgh and start working out and practicing with the team,” Edwards said. “This is my first taste of college coaching, and I can’t wait.”