July 2, 2007

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Marist head women's basketball coach Brian Giorgis announced the addition of Keila Whittington to his staff as assistant coach on Monday. Whittington, who has 16 years of Division I coaching experience, joins the Red Foxes after having spent the last six years at Penn State.

"It's a tremendous addition to our staff, to have someone the quality and the professional that she is," Giorgis said. "We look forward to having her help us stay at the level we're at."

Whittington comes to Marist with an impressive track record of success on the floor and on the recruiting trail. This year, she helped recruit a class which was ranked 22nd in the country by Blue Star Basketball. In 2003, Whittington was listed as one of the top five recruiting coordinators in the country by All-Star Girls Report. That same year, the class she helped bring in was rated 13th in the country by All-Star Girls Report. Whittington also was responsible for signing Tyra Grant, who was named Miss Ohio Basketball in 2006. In Whittington's tenure at Penn State, the Lady Lions made four NCAA Tournament appearances and won two Big Ten championships. Penn State advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2002 and 2003, and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2004.

Prior to her arrival at Penn State, Whittington spent the 2000-01 season as South Alabama's recruiting coordinator. That year, the team earned its first Sun Belt Conference Tournament victory in program history and had its highest victory total in 10 years. From 1995-2000, Whittington was an assistant at Indiana, also serving as recruiting coordinator. While with the Hoosiers, she served as assistant coach on the Big Ten All-Star Tour in 1997, traveling to Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Whittington was also an assistant at Rhode Island from 1993-95, and was promoted to top assistant and recruiting coordinator in 1995. She began her collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Delaware, where she coached from 1991-93. Whittington's first experience on the bench came as assistant varsity girls' coach and head junior varsity girls' coach at McDonogh #35 High School in New Orleans.

A native of Louisiana, Whittington has a wealth of community involvement. She organized a supply relief drive consisting of non-perishable food items, water and toys which was sent to St. Bernard Parish is Chalmette, La., just outside of New Orleans, to benefit those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Whittington is a 1989 graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans, earning a B.A. in Health & Physical Education. She received her M.A. in Physical Education from Delaware in 1993.

Whittington fills an opening on the Red Foxes' staff created when Jada Pierce left to become assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts.

The Marist women's basketball team is coming off its most successful season in program history, earning a berth in the Sweet 16, a final national ranking of 22nd in the USA Today/ESPN Women's College Basketball Poll while posting a 29-6 record in the 2006-07 campaign.