Melissa
Slone took over the Lady Yellowjacket program on
August 15, 2003. For the past five years, Slone
has been the head women’s basketball coach at
College of Charleston in South Carolina. She was an
assistant coach for one year at Charleston before
being named head coach in 1998. The Cougars are a
member of the Division I Southern Conference.
Slone’s teams rank No. 1 and No. 2 in school history
for Southern Conference victories and her 2001-2002
squad posted the second-best NCAA season record in
school history at 14-14. Charleston moved from NAIA
to Division I in the early 1990s.
“We feel very fortunate to be
able to hire someone with Melissa’s experience,
basketball knowledge and energy,” said MSU Billings Athletics Director
Dr. Gary Gray. “She has made some great
strides with few resources at Charleston, and we
believe she can continue the great tradition of
success that our women’s basketball program has at
MSU Billings. Melissa is committed to her
student-athletes, both as players and as people.
We believe she will be an excellent coach, mentor
and promoter of the Lady Yellowjackets.”
“I’m excited about the
opportunities at MSU Billings,” said Slone. “I was
impressed with the University, city and especially
the players. I was very pleased with the enthusiasm
and dedication of the players currently in the
program. It’s encouraging to see how well the
women’s basketball program is supported on campus.
I’m really looking forward to working with this
special team. I would like
to thank Chancellor Sexton, Dr. Gray and the search
committee for putting their trust and confidence in
me to lead this program to new heights.”
“Life is all about change and
growing,” said Slone of moving across country to
take over the Lady Yellowjacket program. “After
spending a few days in Billings, I knew I would
accept the job if it was offered to me. I’d like to
get to Billings sometime next week to get a start on
recruiting. It may take me a couple trips back to
Charleston to get everything taken care of with
moving, but I want to make sure everything for the
team is ready to go when classes start. I really
can’t wait to get to Billings and get started.”
Slone guided the Cougars to
three consecutive seasons of double-digit wins for
the only time since the school moved to Division I.
Her teams had three Southern Conference first team
selections; broke school records for 3-point
percentage, free throw percentage and assists per
game; and placed 25 student-athletes on the Southern
Conference All-Academic team. One of Slone’s top
recruits at Charleston, Wilma Simpson, became the
school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
Said MSU Billings Chancellor
Dr. Ronald Sexton, “I am excited and very pleased
Coach Slone has accepted our offer and will be
joining the University and the Department of
Intercollegiate Athletics as Head Coach for the
women’s basketball program. Coach Slone is an ideal
match with the University’s and the program’s focus
on student-athletes. Her personal values, focus on
excellence, and dedication to ensuring her
student-athletes develop to their fullest potential
academically and athletically directly reflect what
NCAA Division II athletic programs and MSU Billings
are focused upon.”
Slone is a native of Fort
Thomas, Kentucky where she graduated from Highlands
High School in 1987. In 1986 she became the
school’s all-time scoring leader with 1,604 career
points before going on to star at Northern Kentucky,
a perennial Division II basketball power. She was a
three-year starter at point guard, leading the Norse
to an 88-23 record. Playing for coach Nancy Winstel,
Northern Kentucky captured three Great Lakes Valley
Conference titles and qualified for the NCAA
tournament four times in Slone’s four years. She
graduated in 1991 with a degree in accounting.
After coaching at Simon Kenton
High School and for the Kentucky Magic AAU team,
Slone’s first collegiate coaching opportunity came
in 1994 when she was hired as an assistant coach at
Marshall University. At Marshall, Slone was
responsible for team travel and various recruiting
duties in addition to her on-court coaching. She
completed her master’s degree in Athletic
Administration at Marshall in 2000.
In 1995, Slone became an
assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Akron,
where she had responsibilities in all aspects of
recruiting, scheduling, scouting, summer camps,
practice and on-court coaching. One of Slone’s top
recruits at Akron, Cheryl Bowles, went on to become
the school’s all-time leading scorer and an
honorable mention Kodak All-American. Slone
remained at Akron until moving to Charleston in
1997.
“Our team is very excited about
Coach Slone’s future at MSU Billings,” said junior
center Robyn Milne. “She is very highly qualified,
and she has the enthusiasm and everything else to
make her successful.”
“We are very excited about the
hiring of Coach Slone,” added junior guard Kayla
Frize. “She is a great fit with our team, our
university and Billings. Coach Slone will bring
many positive things to our program.” |
