The New Orleans Privateers women’s basketball team and new head coach, Trelanne Powell have announced the new coaching staff for the upcoming 2023-24 season. Brittany White joins the staff as the new Associate Head Coach. Lonnika Thompson and Kate Zhibareva join the staff as assistant coaches.
White previously worked with Coach Powell at Tuskegee from 2018-22. The team won 72 percent of their games in that span. In her last season at Tuskegee, Ashiala Jackson won Conference Player of the Year while JuToreyia Willis earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
White went on to FIU for the 2022-23 season. In her one season with the Golden Panthers, there were two student-athletes who received postseason accolades from Conference USA: Kaliah Henderson (First Team) and Sifa Jouyese (All-Freshman Team).
“I’m thrilled to announce that Brittany White is joining me again for another part of our coaching journey! We spent four years working tirelessly side by side at Tuskegee University. She had a huge hand in the turnaround we produced there. She has a strong work ethic and continues to be a student of the game. She is an outstanding coach but what I appreciate most about her is her kind heart and her ability to connect with people. She is an absolute star and I am so happy to name her my associate head coach.”
Thompson has been with Texas A&M-International since 2019. In her second season with the Dustdevils, the team won the Lone Star Conference South Division Championship. It was the first title in the program’s history. The Dustdevils were also ranked in the top five in their region.
That season, Texas A&M-International also beat a pair of Division I opponents in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Weber State. Last year, the team set a single game program record for steals with 28.
“I’m excited about the hire of Lonnika Thompson. She is a New Orleans native who brings more than just the coaching aspect to this UNO program. LT will help spearhead our community outreach as we begin to get UNO women’s basketball more involved in not just this community but the surrounding areas. She is another coach on this staff that brings a different level of relatability to our student athletes. She is a JUCO product who finished her career at the University of Florida. LT will be instrumental in the development of our point guards.”
Zhibareva joins the staff from her previous stop at Young Harris College in Georgia. While there, the team was regionally ranked for the first time in program history. Last season, Mackenzie Johnson earned All-Conference and All-American honors.
Zhibareva also coached at a current Southland program in Texas A&M-Commerce. While there (2019-21), the Lions had two All-Americans and five All-Lone Star Conference selections.
“Adding Kate Zhibareva to this staff will be an especially advantageous for our program. Her experience in playing for a nationally ranked program under the tutelage of Jason Burton has been pivotal for her career. Kate also started her coaching journey at Texas A&M-Commerce where she honed in on her craft of developing post players. She was able to take that knowledge to Young Harris College where she aided in the development of a Div. II All-American in Mackenzie Johnson. I am elated Kate is joining us here at UNO. She will be the driving force behind our international recruitment.”
