June 6, 2012
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State head women's basketball coach Stephanie Glanceadded Tynesha Lewis to her coaching staff as an assistant coach, announced Wednesday.
"We are very excited to have Tynesha join our Redbird family," Glance said. "I have known Tynesha since she was 16 years old and have watched her grow and develop into an incredible person, teacher, leader and motivator. She will be a tremendous asset to our program and a great mentor to our players."
Lewis is excited about the opportunity to coach with Glance and join the ISU family.
"I haven't wanted to coach with anyone else more, and I find it humbling that Coach Glance would ask me to be a part of her staff," Lewis said. "The affect Coach Glance and Coach (Kay) Yow had on changing my life and getting me to where I am now was greatly appreciated, and I want to be able to do the same thing for other young women. There will always be different places and buildings, but the one thing that is unique are the people. People make the difference. When I walked on the campus, everyone that I met was a great person with the right vision, and I am excited to be a part of the Bloomington-Normal and Redbird communities."
Lewis is beginning her collegiate coaching career with the Redbirds, but has a vast amount of knowledge and experience in basketball. Lewis was a four-year letterwinner and four-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection at North Carolina State from 1998-2001, where she played for legendary coach Kay Yow and Glance.
NC State's women's basketball program has a decorated history and Lewis helped create an unforgettable past. She ranks fifth in the Wolfpack record books in three-pointers made (142), eighth in career points (1,621), 11th in field goals made (603), 11th in scoring average (13.2), 11th in assists (345) and 11th in rebounds (650). The Pack qualified for the NCAA Tournament all four seasons of Lewis' career, and she was also a member of the U.S. National Select Team in the summer of 1998.
As a freshman, Lewis led NC State to a 55-54 win over No. 2-ranked Old Dominion in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, sending the Wolfpack to its first `Elite Eight' appearance. The Pack went on to defeat Connecticut to achieve a berth in the 1998 Final Four.
During her senior season, Lewis recorded a triple-double twice in one month and owns the only two triple-doubles in school history (male or female). She also served as a team captain and was named the ACC Player of the Week twice (Feb. 5, 2001 & Feb. 19, 2001).
Following her collegiate career, Lewis was selected as the 21st overall pick by the Houston Comets in the 2001 WNBA Draft. The Macclesfield, N.C., native also played for the Charlotte Sting and Minnesota Lynx before retiring from the league in 2007. In 2003, she started her own business, a non-profit organization called Itsdoable, Inc., which includes motivational speaking and youth programs.
Lewis joins the coaching staff, after Danielle Santosleft to take a similar position at Kentucky.
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