Women's Basketball Hires New Assistant Coaches :: Shondra Johnson and Andrea Ward have been hired as assistant coaches

July 28, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball program has hired two new assistant coaches, head coach Mike Morris announced on Monday. Andrea Ward and Shondra Johnson have been hired as assistant coaches.

"Shondra and Andrea are both great representatives of the mission of Samford University," Morris said. "They will be a great asset in attracting the top student-athletes for our program."

Ward comes to Samford after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Huntingdon College in Montgomery. At Huntingdon, she was involved with practice planning, scouting reports, recruiting, scheduling, academic monitoring, summer camps and the booster club. In her final season at Huntingdon, she also served as the school's assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Ward, a 2006 Samford graduate, played four seasons for the Bulldogs. She had her best season as a senior in 2005-06, helping lead the team to its first 20-win season and first trip to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals. While at Samford, Ward assisted with the program's summer camps in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Ward earned a B.S. degree in education from Samford in May of 2006. She is currently working toward her Master's degree from Auburn University.

"We are very excited to have Andrea back in our program," Morris said. "She was one of the hardest working players in our program and she will bring that same work ethic to coaching. With her character, passion and enthusiasm for the game she will be a tremendous asset to our program"

Johnson comes to Samford after working as a head coach at the high school level since 2003. She was the coach at the Brookwood School in Thomasville, Ga., from Aug. 2006 until being hired at Samford. She was named Regional Coach of the Year in 2006-07 after leading her team to the state finals. In her second season, Johnson's team returned to the state semifinals.

From 2003 to 2005, Johnson was the head coach at Chalmette High School in St. Bernard, La. Her teams won district championships in both of her seasons at Chalmette. She was named District and State Coach of the Year in 2003-04, and District Coach of the Year in 2004-05.

Johnson, a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in marketing, played four seasons (1998-2002) for the Crimson Tide women's basketball team. She was a three-time All-Southeastern Conference selection, and she was named the team's captain as a senior in 2001-02. At the conclusion of her collegiate playing career, Johnson was selected by New York in the third round of the 2002 WNBA Draft.

"We are very fortunate to have Shondra join our basketball family," Morris said. "With her experience as a head coach and a very warm outgoing personality she will be a very positive addition to our program."