Charlotte 49ers head women’s basketball coach Cara Consuegra has named Randi Henderson as an assistant coach with the program beginning with the 2015-16 campaign.
“We are fortunate to be able to welcome a veteran coach like Randi to our 49ers family,” Consuegra said. “She brings a very successful pedigree and a wealth of experience that will only add to our mission of developing young ladies who compete at the highest level.
“Randi and I have known each other for a long time and I have always been impressed by her coaching. More importantly, however, I am impressed by her leadership, character and her ability to connect with players and transform lives.”
Henderson joins the Niners after a nine-year stint as the head women’s basketball coach at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the NCAA Division III level. She also served as the department’s senior women’s administrator (SWA).
“I would like to thank Cara and Charlotte for providing me with the opportunity to join their staff,” Henderson said. “It is evident this staff is committed to growing young women into future leaders. That is something I am excited to be a part of.
“I feel honored to be considered an asset to the program and look forward to helping an already outstanding staff and aspiring young group of women to reach new heights.”
She led the Kohawks to the school’s only three 20-plus win seasons, including a school-record 26 on their way to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2010-11. Coe finished with a 14-2 mark in the Iowa Intercollegie Athletic Conference (IIAC) that season, sharing the league regular-season crown before picking up the tournament title.
It was one of six double-digit victory campaigns in conference play during Henderson’s tenure, including back-to-back in each of the last two years. The Kohawks also tied for the regular-season championship in 2009-10, posting a 13-3 league ledger as part of a 19-8 overall season.
In 2011-12, Coe advanced to the NCAA Second Round after winning its second-straight IIAC Tournament final and garnering a 21-8 record.
Her first time winning 20 games came in just her second season, 2007-08, when she engineered a 12-win turnaround from the previous year and vaulted the Kohawks to a third-place finish in the conference standings with a 20-8 mark. Coe advanced to the league tournament final for the first time in program history, while winning its inaugural conference tournament game.
She received two IIAC Coach of the Year honors (2010, 2011) and a nod as the WBCA West Region Coach of the Year during her Coe career. Her overall record with the program was 155-91 (.630), the most wins by any head coach, men’s or women’s, in school history. She also guided the Kohawks to a 90-48 (.652) ledger in conference action during her nine-year stint.
Prior to arriving at Coe, Henderson spent one season, 2005-06, at Minnesota Morris where she earned Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Coach of the Year accolades. She directed the Cougars to a 16-10 record, including a 10-4 mark in league play to tie for second in the standings. She was an assistant at UMM for two years, 2003-04 and 2004-05, prior to her elevation to the head coaching post. In each of her three campaigns at Minnesota Morris, the Cougars tallied double-digit victories after boasting a 1-26 record prior to her arrival.
A native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, she began her coaching career as a volunteer at Athens High School in Athens, Ohio, as a graduate teaching assistant. In her only season on the bench, the Bulldogs won their conference championship, finished with a 19-5 mark and appeared in the sub-state tournament for the first time in 10 years.
Henderson played collegiately at Iowa, where she was teammates with Consuegra during the 1997-98 through 2000-01 seasons. She was a three-year starter and team captain for the Hawkeyes, where she helped guide the program to a pair of NCAA Tournaments (1998, 2001) and the 2001 Big Ten Tournament title when it upset top-seed Purdue.
As a senior, she garnered All-Big Ten First Team honors, All-Big Ten Tournament Team plaudits and a spot on the All-Big Ten Academic Team for the third-straight season. She paced Iowa in rebounding as a junior and senior and topped the squad in double-doubles in her final campaign. Her 150 boards in league action as a senior were the most in the Big Ten in 2000-01.
She currently holds two Hawkeyes Big Ten Tournament single-game records, 15 rebounds versus Indiana March 2, 2001, and six steals versus Northwestern March 2, 2000.
Henderson concluded her Iowa career with 936 points and 745 rebounds, placing 11th on the school’s all-time list.
The former Randi Peterson was married in September 2014 to Duez Henderson, a Hawkeyes men’s basketball player from 1998-99 through 2001-02. A former Miss Basketball (1997) in Iowa, she also has been a course director at Point Guard College.
She graduated from Iowa in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in health, leisure and sport studies. She then added a master’s degree in recreation and sport sciences at Ohio in 2003.
http://www.charlotte49ers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23200&ATCLID=210101289
Photo Courtesy Charlotte Athletics
Tagged with: UNC-Charlotte