Kalee Whipple, a name familiar to many Lady Rebel fans, is one that will be heard even more now at UNLV, as the Nevada native and former Utah Ute has been hired as an assistant women’s basketball coach, UNLV head coach Kathy Olivier announced on Thursday. Whipple takes over the spot vacated by Kim Ortega, who left in late August to further pursue her career in special education.

Whipple played at Utah from 2007-10, and was a four-time All-Mountain West forward for the Utes who earned AP Honorable Mention All-America honors her senior year. She helped the Utes reach the postseason all for years in her time in Salt Lake City, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament, with the 2008-09 squad reaching the second round. Whipple finished her career with 1,964 points, which ranks fourth in school history. She’s also fourth in career rebounds (905) and steals (218), while her 45 points against TCU in 2010 remains the school and MW record. She received her degree from Utah in May of 2010, a bachelor of science with a concentration in human development and family studies.

Since her graduation, Whipple played one season of basketball overseas in Belgium in 2010, served as head coach for the girls’ basketball team at The Meadows High School for the 2011-12 season, and then moved over to coach with the Vegas Elite Basketball Club, since the spring of 2012.

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