Melissa Slone Selected to Guide Lady Yellowjacket Program (August 14, 2003)

BILLINGS, MT – Dr. Gary Gray, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Montana State University-Billings, announced today that Melissa Slone has been offered and has accepted the position of head women’s basketball coach at MSU Billings.  Slone replaces Karyn Ridgeway, who left the program after three years.

“We feel very fortunate to be able to hire someone with Melissa’s experience, basketball knowledge and energy,” said Gray.  “She has made some great strides with few resources at Charleston, and we believe she can continue the great tradition of success that our women’s basketball program has at MSU Billings.  Melissa is committed to her student-athletes, both as players and as people.  We believe she will be an excellent coach, mentor and promoter of the Lady Yellowjackets.”

For the past five years, Slone has been the head women’s basketball coach at College of Charleston in South Carolina.  She was an assistant coach for one year at Charleston before being named head coach in 1998.  The Cougars are a member of the Division I Southern Conference.  Slone’s teams rank No. 1 and No. 2 in school history for Southern Conference victories and her 2001-2002 squad posted the second-best NCAA season record in school history at 14-14.  Charleston moved from NAIA to Division I in the early 1990s.

“I’m excited about the opportunities at MSU Billings,” said Slone.  “I was impressed with the University, city and especially the players.  I was very pleased with the enthusiasm and dedication of the players currently in the program.  It’s encouraging to see how well the women’s basketball program is supported on campus.  I’m really looking forward to working with this special team.  I would like to thank Chancellor Sexton, Dr. Gray and the search committee for putting their trust and confidence in me to lead this program to new heights.”

“Life is all about change and growing,” said Slone of moving across country to take over the Lady Yellowjacket program.  “After spending a few days in Billings, I knew I would accept the job if it was offered to me.  I’d like to get to Billings sometime next week to get a start on recruiting.  It may take me a couple trips back to Charleston to get everything taken care of with moving, but I want to make sure everything for the team is ready to go when classes start.  I really can’t wait to get to Billings and get started.”

Slone guided the Cougars to three consecutive seasons of double-digit wins for the only time since the school moved to Division I.  Her teams had three Southern Conference first team selections; broke school records for 3-point percentage, free throw percentage and assists per game; and placed 25 student-athletes on the Southern Conference All-Academic team.  One of Slone’s top recruits at Charleston, Wilma Simpson, became the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

Said MSU Billings Chancellor Dr. Ronald Sexton, “I am excited and very pleased Coach Slone has accepted our offer and will be joining the University and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics as Head Coach for the women’s basketball program.  Coach Slone is an ideal match with the University’s and the program’s focus on student-athletes.  Her personal values, focus on excellence, and dedication to ensuring her student-athletes develop to their fullest potential academically and athletically directly reflect what NCAA Division II athletic programs and MSU Billings are focused upon.”

Slone is a native of Fort Thomas, Kentucky where she graduated from Highlands High School in 1987.  In 1986 she became the school’s all-time scoring leader with 1,604 career points before going on to star at Northern Kentucky, a perennial Division II basketball power.  She was a three-year starter at point guard, leading the Norse to an 88-23 record.  Playing for coach Nancy Winstel, Northern Kentucky captured three Great Lakes Valley Conference titles and qualified for the NCAA tournament four times in Slone’s four years.  She graduated in 1991 with a degree in accounting.

After coaching at Simon Kenton High School and for the Kentucky Magic AAU team, Slone’s first collegiate coaching opportunity came in 1994 when she was hired as an assistant coach at Marshall University.  At Marshall, Slone was responsible for team travel and various recruiting duties in addition to her on-court coaching.  She completed her master’s degree in Athletic Administration at Marshall in 2000.

In 1995, Slone became an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Akron, where she had responsibilities in all aspects of recruiting, scheduling, scouting, summer camps, practice and on-court coaching.  One of Slone’s top recruits at Akron, Cheryl Bowles, went on to become the school’s all-time leading scorer and an honorable mention Kodak All-American.  Slone remained at Akron until moving to Charleston in 1997.

“Our team is very excited about Coach Slone’s future at MSU Billings,” said junior center Robyn Milne.  “She is very highly qualified, and she has the enthusiasm and everything else to make her successful.”

“We are very excited about the hiring of Coach Slone,” added junior guard Kayla Frize.  “She is a great fit with our team, our university and Billings.  Coach Slone will bring many positive things to our program.”