Mississippi Valley State University’s Director of Athletics Dianthia Ford-Kee announced Jessica Kern as the fourth head women’s basketball coach on April 4, 2016.
“It is our pleasure to welcome Coach Jessica Kern to the Mississippi Valley family, said Ford-Kee, “She brings to us a wealth of knowledge and experience that will move our program in the right direction. She has proven she has the ability to motivate players to excel on and off the playing surface to build a championship caliber program.”
Kern comes to the Devilettes after serving as an assistant coach for Furman University. Furman ended their regular season in fifth place with a 15-16 record and advanced to the semi-final game of the Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.
“I would like to thank President Bynum, Mrs. Ford-Kee and the selection committee for selecting me. I am honored that I was selected to lead this program, stated Kern, “I ask the administration, faculty, staff and surrounding communities, that you open your arms to the young ladies that will playing underneath me. They will walk with discipline; they will carry themselves with respect and will respect this institution.”
Prior to Furman, Kern was the head women’s basketball coach at Lincoln University (PA), taking over a program in 2011 that had won just three games the previous season. In her first season at the helm, she coached the Lady Lions to seven victories, 10 triumphs the following year, and to a 12-16 season in 2013-14 before posting a 22-9 mark her final season.
During her second season at Lincoln, she made school history, as the first basketball coach to advance in post season play, defeating powerhouse, Johnson C. Smith 50-46, in the CIAA Basketball Tournament after the school moved from NCAA Division III to Division II in 2010.
In her third season at the helm of the Lincoln Lions, she helped guide the program’s first win over a NCAA Division I opponent, a 94-86 triumph over Morgan State, and later directed her team from a 16-point second half deficit to beat Winston-Salem State, 64-62, in the 2014 CIAA Basketball Tournament.
The 2014-15 season saw Kern capture the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Coach of the Year honors after leading her squad to a 22-9 record and a share of the CIAA Northern Division title. The 22 wins marked a school record and carried Lincoln to a CIAA Tournament championship game appearance, where the Lady Lions fell to Virginia State.
Before accepting the head coaching position at Lincoln, she served as an assistant coach and media specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee of Horizon League for the 2010-11 campaign, immediately following a two-year stint (2008-10) as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Kern attended Penn State University, where she served as a basketball team captain for two years and twice earned All-Big 10 and Academic All-Big honors while also competing in track & field. After graduating in 2002 with a degree in journalism, she began a successful seven-year professional basketball career that would take her to Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, and Poland.
In the off-seasons from 2002-2007 she returned home to Milwaukee, Wisc., to teach at various Milwaukee High Schools and assisted girls basketball and track & field teams. In addition, she established several basketball camps for under-serviced neighborhoods.
In the summer of 2007 she was appointed head coach of the Arkansas Lady Ballers in the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League, a 20-team national semi-pro league. Her up-tempo style helped propel the Ballers to a victory over the Canadian national team, regional championship, and national title.
Kern enjoyed one of the most successful prep careers in Milwaukee City Conference history, earning a combined 11 letters in basketball, volleyball, and track & field while serving as team captain in each sport for multiple seasons. In basketball she played in four state Final Fours and won a pair of state championships. She claimed 11 individual conference championships in track & field and was a three-time all-conference performance in volleyball.
http://mvsusports.com/news/2016/4/4/jessica-kern-named-as-head-womens-basketball-coach.aspx
Photo Courtesy MVSU Athletics
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