Tajama Abraham Ngongba finished her seventh season at George Mason in 2019-20. Working with the post players, Ngongba arrived at Mason after spending five years as the head coach at Radford, where she was the 2010-11 Big South Coach of the Year.
She contributed to a record-breaking season in 2017-18 for the Patriots, who set the school record for wins (24), reached the WNIT for the first time in 14 years and won a postseason game for the first time in program history.
Ngongba has helped the Patriots improve down low in the post. During the 2017-18 season, she coached Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Natalie Butler, who, after transferring from national power Connecticut, led the nation in rebounding (16.6 rpg) and double-doubles (33). Butler also was named to the Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention team and was drafted 30th overall in the WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, becoming the first Mason player to be drafted in program history. She signed a contract to play overseas in Belgium.
She also mentored Florida State transfer Kristi Mokube averaged 10.0 points and 6.1 rebounds during her two years at Mason (2014-16). Mokube finished her senior season as the team's second leading scorer with 11.4 points and as the top rebounder with 6.2 per game. This was up from 8.5 points and six rebounds a game her junior season. Mokube received the Most Improved Player Award from the coaching staff after the 2015-16 season.
During the 2014-15 season, Ngonba helped coach Mason on the boards to out-rebound opponents an average of 42.0 rebounds per game to 40.6. The Patriots were particularly strong on the defensive class snagging 848 defensive boards while allowing opponents just 393 offensive rebounds.
In her first year at Mason working with the post players, Ngonba helped senior Janaa Pickard become the second all-time blocks leader at Mason in addition to guiding Pickard to become the 17th player in Mason women's basketball history to reach the 1,000 point mark.
While at Radford, Ngongba mentored five Big South All-Conference honorees, a Big South All-Tournament selection, an All-Rookie honoree and the 2008-09 Big South Defensive Player of the Year. In just her third season as head coach, Ngongba was tabbed the Big South Coach of the Year after guiding the Highlanders to a second-place tie to cap the regular season and a quarterfinal appearance in the Big South Tournament.
Ngongba joined the Highlanders as the sixth head women’s basketball coach in 2008 and quickly exceeded expectations, guiding Radford to a third-place regular-season finish in the Big South after being selected to finish fourth.
The Highlanders opened the 2010-11 season with their best program start (7-1) in league play since 1997-98 and finished with Ngongba earning coach of the year honors. The squad finished regular season play with an 11-5 record to mark the most league wins since 1993-94.
In her final two seasons at Radford, Ngongba led the Highlanders to a pair of semifinal appearances in the Big South Tournament, while recording the program’s 27th and 28th winnings seasons in history. While under her guidance, Ngongba guided Radford to two notable victories as the Highlanders recorded their 200th Big South regular season victory in 2009 against Coastal Carolina and won their 600th program win on January 22, 2011 against Presbyterian.
Prior to Radford, Ngongba served as an assistant coach at her alma mater, George Washington University, for four years. While at GW, Ngongba was responsible for recruiting, scouting, team academics, postseason workouts and player development, with an emphasis on post play. She helped mentor three Atlantic 10 First-Team All-Conference selections in addition to guiding honorable mention All-American Kimberly Beck, all-conference performer Sarah-Jo Lawrence and Academic All-American Kenan Cole.
From 2002-04, Ngongba was an assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth where she held responsibilities in recruiting, post player development, scouting and organizing preseason and summer conditioning workouts. Ngongba spent the 2001-02 season as an assistant at the University of Richmond where she helped guide the Spiders to an 8-8 mark and a second-place tie in the West Division in the program’s inaugural A-10 season.
Before arriving at Richmond, Ngongba was a member of the coaching staff that helped the U.S. Virgin Islands Women’s Junior National Team to a gold medal in the 2001 Caricom Junior Basketball Championships in Nassau, Bahamas. Aside from her role as an assistant, she also served as the team captain for the U.S. Virgin Islands Women’s Senior National Team.
A former standout player for GW women’s basketball from 1994-97, Ngongba has been a part of 252 GW victories and four Sweet 16 appearances. She remains the program’s most prolific scorer having tallied a school-record 2,134 points during her four-year career and is the only Colonial to surpass the 2,000 career-point mark. Ngongba was named a Kodak First-Team All-American in 1997 as a senior after leading the Colonials to a 28-6 record and the East Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament. GW defeated No. 4 North Carolina in the final to advance to the Elite Eight.
Ngongba earned the 1997 Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year Award and a Kodak Honorable Mention All-American and Basketball Times Honorable Mention All-American in 1996. She received a unanimous first-team all-league selection in 1996 and 1997, earned second team all-conference honors in 1995 and was the Rookie of the Year in 1994. Ngongba was selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament team in 1997 and was the tournament’s MVP in 1996 when GW claimed the A-10 crown.
In addition to holding the school-record of 2,134 points, Ngongba also holds the school mark for most points scored in one season (675 in 1996-97) and is tied with former GW assistant coach Lisa Cermignano for the most games played (130). She ranks second at GW in career scoring average (16.4 ppg), rebounds (970) and blocked shots (326).
After graduating from GW, Ngongba was drafted as the seventh pick in the fourth round of the inaugural WNBA draft by the Sacramento Monarchs. She spent the 1997 season with the Monarchs before joining the Detroit Shock for the 1998 campaign. During the 1998-99 season, Ngongba traveled to Nice, France to play for the Nice Cavigal before returning to GW as an administrative assistant in October 1999.
A native of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Ngongba became the sixth player and seventh individual with ties to the women’s basketball program to be inducted into the GW Athletics Hall of Fame on January 24, 2004.
A 1997 graduate from GW with a degree in Sociology, Ngongba completed her Master’s work in 2006 in Parks, Recreation and Sports Leadership from VCU. She married former GW men’s basketball player Patrick Ngongba in 2003 and the couple has a daughter, Naja, and son, Patrick II.
