In this week's installment of Meet the Pioneers, get to know associate head coach Yvonne Hawkins.
Yvonne Hawkins joined the University of Denver women's basketball coaching staff in the summer of 2008, bringing with her 23 years of coaching experience.
In her second season with Denver, she was instrumental in helping the Pioneers amass an 18-13 overall record and a 12-6 mark in the Sun Belt Conference.
Under her direction, the Pioneers finished first in the SBC rankings in defensive rebounds with 26.3 per game and second in block shots per game with 4.8.
Working primarily with the post players, Hawkins coached sophomore forward Kaetlyn Murdoch to the All-SBC First Team, and helped her to lead the conference and finish 11th nationally with 3.0 bpg. Murdoch and Brianna Culberson also ranked first and third in the SBC in field goal percentage, respectively.
Prior to coming to DU, Hawkins spent four seasons with the Boston College women's basketball staff, including three with head coach Erik Johnson.
Hawkins helped Boston College to the second round of the 2004-05 NCAA Tournament as well as to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2005-06 and a WNIT quarterfinal appearance in 2007-08.
Hawkins was responsible for assisting with the development of the post players as well as the skill development of the guards. Hawkins also assisted with scouting, evaluating game film and recruiting efforts.
Before her time at Boston College, Hawkins served as an assistant at Yale for two years and an assistant at the University of Albany for 15 years.
She also spent two years as the head coach at SUNY Delhi. During her 15-year stint at Albany, Hawkins helped move the program from NCAA Division III to Division I in the six-year span from 1996-2002.
Hawkins spent time scouting for the WNBA Champion Detroit Shock during the summer of 2007.
Hawkins graduated from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. She was a two-time captain of the Eagles squad during her four-year playing career.
