Henrickson Brings Three Staff Members

March 31, 2004

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Trena Anderson

Katie O’Connor

Karen Lange

Kansas women’s basketball head coach Bonnie Henrickson announced she will be joined in her move to KU by three of her Virginia Tech staff members. Assistant coaches Karen Lange and Katie O’Connor, in addition to Director of Basketball Operations Trena Anderson, will all assume similar roles for the Jayhawks.

Lange joined Henrickson when she took over as head coach of the Hokies in 1997. Lange, who also served as recruiting coordinator at Virginia Tech this past season, made the transition from player to coach after a standout career at the University of Iowa.

In her time as the Hawkeyes’ point guard, Lange received All-Big Ten Conference and academic all-conference honors, in addition to leading Iowa to an appearance in the NCAA Final Four in 1993.

As a player at Iowa, when Henrickson was an assistant coach there, Lange led the 1995-96 Hawkeyes to the NCAA Sweet 16. She dished out a team-leading 136 assists, while committing only 60 turnovers in 31 games.

Lange helped lead the Hawkeyes to the 1993 and 1996 Big Ten Championships in addition to Iowa’s impressive NCAA runs. Lange and the Hawkeyes were honored as the NCAA’s top defensive unit in 1993.

As well as being an outstanding player and coach, Lange is an NATA certified trainer. While at Iowa, she pulled double-duty by serving as trainer for the Hawkeyes’ nationally-ranked field hockey team.

A native of Raleigh, N.C., Lange received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Iowa in 1996. At Tech, she assisted in the monitoring of academics, recruiting, scouting and the instruction of guards.

O’Connor is coming off her third season as an assistant coach under Henrickson after serving for two years as administrative assistant, also at Virginia Tech. She previously served as a student assistant for one year following her playing career at Virginia Tech.

In her position at Tech, O’Connor had on-court coaching responsibilities working with the guards, and she also served as director of women’s basketball summer camps.

As administrative assistant, O’Connor was responsible for the daily operation of the basketball office as well as the coordination of Tech’s booster club, the Hokie Hardwood Club.

O’Connor, a native of Chapel Hill, N.C., was a four-year starter for the Hokies from 1995-99. She helped lead Tech to an Atlantic 10 Conference tournament title in 1998, an A-10 regular-season title in 1999 and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

In her senior season, the program enjoyed its most successful year, posting a 28-3 record, a Sweet 16 appearance and the program’s highest ranking of No. 9. As a senior, she was also named the Atlantic 10 Conference’s most improved player.

O’Connor graduated from Tech in May 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Anderson joined the Henrickson staff last season as Director of Basketball Operations, after serving in the same position the previous three years at Michigan State University.

In her position at Virginia Tech, Anderson coordinated team travel, served as a liaison with the Hardwood Club on the Annual Women’s Basketball Auction, coordinated film exchange and community service projects for the team and served as assistant director of the women’s basketball summer camps.

At MSU, she served as the team travel coordinator for postseason tournaments and coordinated several events supporting the women’s basketball program, including summer basketball camps, the alumni game, senior day celebration and the Joanne P. McCallie Radio Show. She was the membership coordinator for the Fastbreak Booster Club where she helped increase overall membership and donations and assisted in the promotion of women’s basketball, which saw attendance increase 85 percent from 2001-02 to 2002-03. She was the editor of Time Out, the monthly booster club newsletter and membership brochure, and High Five, a youth club publication and alumni newsletter.

Prior to serving as Director of Basketball Operations, Anderson was an intern with both the Michigan State Student-Athlete Support Services and the Senior Woman Administrator’s offices. Anderson earned a B.S. degree in mass communication/public relations in 1997 from Southeast Missouri State and an M.S. degree in public administration in 2000 from SEMO. She served as the assistant men’s and women’s track & field coach at Southeast Missouri State from 1997 until 1999, and also worked early 1997 at KMOX radio and KDNL-TV in St. Louis, Mo.