After three years as head coach at Elizabeth City State University, Tynesha Lewis is leaving the HBCU coaching world. On Friday the former WNBA player was named the head coach at UNC Asheville. Lewis put together a 61-29 record over her three seasons at ECSU, appearing in three straight CIAA tournament championships, winning one.
Her winning and resume as a player, caught the eye of UNC Asheville Athletic Director Janet R. Cone.
“We are so excited to have Tynesha Lewis as our next head women’s basketball coach,” said Cone. “Her experiences as a player at NC State and in the WNBA and as a successful head coach at Elizabeth City State demonstrate that she knows how to compete and win at a high level, that she cares deeply about her student-athletes and their holistic development on and off the court and that
she places a high value on doing things the right way. Tynesha will work tirelessly in getting our women’s basketball program to a place of consistent competitive excellence.”
A Decade of Futility
Elizabeth City hadn’t had a winning season in over a decade before Lewis arrived on the HBCU campus in Northeastern North Carolina. Things turned around immediately with three straight 20 win seasons under her watch. Lewis spent three seasons as an assistant at North Carolina Center prior to coming to ECSU.
Lewis played collegiately at NC State University before being drafted by the Houston Comets as the 31st pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft, She played in the WNBA for six seasons, which also included stops with the Charlotte Sting and the Minnesota Lynx.
ECSU lost to Fayetteville State 69-54 in this year’s championship game in Baltimore. The Lady Vikings won the championship game the previous season versus Shaw University.
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