Chowan University appoints Lenise Stallings as its sixth NCAA head women’s basketball coach, Vice President of Athletics Patrick Mashuda announced Thursday morning.
“We are excited to welcome Lenise to the Hawks family as our next Women’s Basketball coach,” said Mashuda. “I believe she will not only be a great leader, but an outstanding mentor for the young women in the program.”
Lenise will take over a program that went 6-21 during the 2019-20 season and made an appearance in the Conference Carolinas Basketball Tournament. The Hawks posted three consecutive winning seasons from 2015-2018, which included the program’s first-ever NCAA postseason berth during the 2015-16 season.
“I want to thank the leadership at Chowan, Dr. Kirk Peterson and Mr. Mashuda, for putting their faith in me to be the Women’s Basketball Coach at Chowan,” said Stallings. “I am truly honored to have been chosen to be in this position. My vision is to bring excellence back to Murfreesboro; academically, athletically and in the community.”
“Personally, the community means a lot as my grandmother was born and raised in nearby Ahoskie. I have a lot of family along the East Coast and all over supporting me. I’m excited about the challenge of learning and leading on the Division II level.”
Stallings comes to Chowan after a season at Wiley College (NAIA) in Marshall, Texas. During her stint with the Wildcats, Stallings orchestrated a winning season for the first time in three seasons. The Wildcats went 14-13 overall and 11-7 in the Red River Athletic Conference and an appearance in the RRAC semifinals. Stallings would help Brianna Tolliver to a First Team All-Conference selection, and Kyani Moore to being named RRAC Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-Conference.
Under Stallings, the Wildcats saw drastic changes on both sides of the court. Wiley averaged 8.9 more points per game, while lowering their opponent’s points per game by 2.3. Defensively, the Wildcats improved from seventh to second in field goal defense. The most improved change came on the glass as the Wildcats under Stallings went from the worst rebounding margin (-4.37 in 2018-19) to the league’s best (6.85 in 2019-20).
“Leaving Wiley College was a tough decision, but I believe God created this moment for me to be here at this time. I want to thank Wiley for the chance it gave me to sharpen myself professionally and personally.”
Prior to Wiley, Stallings spent two seasons as the assistant coach at Tennessee State following former Mississippi Valley State head coach Jessica Kern to TSU. Lenise helped the Tigers secure the program’s largest recruiting class and a spot in the top-25 most improved Division I women’s basketball programs.
Stallings started her coaching career at Mississippi Valley State in 2016-17 as an assistant coach after serving as a graduate assistant from 2014-2016.
The Hattiesburg, Miss. native played her collegiate career at Mississippi Valley State. During her playing career, Stallings appeared in 124 career games, amassing 739 points, 198 made three-pointers, while shooting 35.1% from behind the arc. Stallings and the Devilettes were named SWAC Regular Season Champions and received a bid to the WNIT in 2011-12, and appeared in the SWAC Conference Championship game in 2012-13. During the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, Stallings led the SWAC in three-point field goal percentage.
Stallings earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from MVSU in 2013 and master’s degree in Bioinformatics in 2016.
Lenise will see her first action in 2021 as the Hawks are scheduled to take on Barton in Conference Carolinas action on January 13.
https://gocuhawks.com/news/2020/11/12/stallings-introduced-as-womens-basketball-coach.aspx
