June 28, 2007

George Mason women's basketball coach Debbie Taneyhill has announced the addition of Kia Cole to the coaching staff. Cole joins the Mason family as an assistant coach and she brings a diverse background to the position. A Northern Virginia native, Cole has played and coached across the country.

Cole played for eight years of AAU basketball in Fairfax County and was a star for the South Lakes High School team. She was District MVP and led her team to a District Championship and a Regional semifinal appearance. She scored more than 1,000 points at South Lakes and is third on the school's all-time scoring list. After graduation, she matriculated to James Madison where she was the team's starting point guard and was selected to the CAA All-Rookie Team. After two seasons, she transferred to St. John's where she appeared in a pair of Big East Tournaments.

After graduating from St. John's with a bachelor's degree in psychology and communications, the Dean's List student became an AAU coach and later coached at Robinson High School as an assistant coach. She spent the past season as an assistant coach at University of Texas at Dallas where she was responsible for defense and working with the team's guards.

"We are thrilled to add Kia Cole to our coaching staff," said Taneyhill. "She brings strong local ties, college-coaching experience and great accomplishments as a former CAA and Big East player."

Cole joins Mike Iuzzolino and Chrissy Kelly as fresh faces to the women's basketball coaching staff.