Amy Williams (basketball)

Amy Williams
Williams in 2020
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamNebraska
ConferenceBig Ten
Record137–111 (.552)
Biographical details
Born (1976-08-19) August 19, 1976 (age 48)
Spearfish, South Dakota
Playing career
1994–1998Nebraska
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1998–2000Nebraska–Kearney (GA)
2000–2001UTSA (asst.)
2001–2005Oklahoma State (asst.)
2005–2007Tulsa (asst.)
2007–2012Rogers State
2012–2016South Dakota
2016–presentNebraska
Head coaching record
Overall330–220 (.600)
Tournaments0–1 (NCAA)
8–2 (WNIT)
2–1 (WBI)
2–2 (NAIA)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

Amy Michelle Williams (née Gusso; born March 22, 1976) is the current head coach of the Nebraska women's basketball team.[1] She was previously the head coach at the University of South Dakota, and led the Coyotes to the 2016 WNIT championship.[2]

Early life and education

Born Amy Michelle Gusso in Spearfish, South Dakota, Williams graduated from Spearfish High School in 1993 and played 57 games as a reserve guard for the Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1994 to 1998.[1][3] Williams graduated from Nebraska in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in biology and mathematics.[1]

Coaching career

From 1998 to 2000, Williams was a graduate assistant for the University of Nebraska at Kearney women's basketball team while studying for her master's degree in sports administration, which she completed in 2002. Williams was an assistant coach at UTSA in the 2000–01 season then at Oklahoma State from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007, Williams was an assistant at Tulsa.[1] Williams helped Tulsa win the program's first regular season and tournament titles in Conference USA and NCAA tournament appearance in 2006.[4]

Williams got her first head coaching job as the first women's basketball head coach at Rogers State University, an NAIA school in Claremore, Oklahoma, in 2007. In five seasons, Williams accumulated a 97–65 record and two NAIA Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2012 for the upstart Hillcats program.[1][5]

In 2012, Williams returned to the NCAA Division I level as head coach at South Dakota. Williams went 96–44 in four seasons, all of which ended with postseason appearances, including the 2013 WBI semifinals, 2014 NCAA Tournament first round, and 2015 WNIT second round. The 2015–16 South Dakota team went 32–6 and won the 2016 WNIT.[1]

On April 11, 2016, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln hired Williams as head women's basketball coach.[6]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Rogers State Hillcats (Sooner Athletic Conference) (2007–2012)
2007–08 Rogers State 13–18 9–13 T–7th
2008–09 Rogers State 18–14 11–11 6th
2009–10 Rogers State 21–11 12–10 T–4th
2010–11 Rogers State 23–10 15–7 4th NAIA First Round
2011–12 Rogers State 22–12 14–8 4th NAIA Quarterfinals
Rogers State: 97–65 (.599) 61–49 (.555)
South Dakota Coyotes (Summit League) (2012–2016)
2012–13 South Dakota 19–16 10–6 3rd WBI Third Round
2013–14 South Dakota 19–14 7–7 4th NCAA First Round
2014–15 South Dakota 26–8 13–3 1st WNIT Second Round
2015–16 South Dakota 32–6 15–1 1st WNIT Champions
South Dakota: 96–44 (.686) 45–17 (.726)
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big Ten Conference) (2016–present)
2016–17 Nebraska 7–22 3–13 T–11th
2017–18 Nebraska 21–11 11–5 T–3rd NCAA First Round
2018–19 Nebraska 14–16 9–9 T–6th
2019–20 Nebraska 17–13 7–11 10th
2020–21 Nebraska 13–13 9–10 9th WNIT Second Round
2021–22 Nebraska 24–9 11–7 6th NCAA First Round
2022–23 Nebraska 18–15 8–10 8th WNIT Super Sixteen
2023–24 Nebraska 23–12 11–7 5th NCAA Second Round
Nebraska: 137–111 (.552) 69–72 (.489)
Total: 330–220 (.600)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Amy Williams". Huskers.com. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  2. ^ "Banner moment: USD wins WNIT title in Dome finale". Argus Leader. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  3. ^ "Amy Gusso". University of Nebraska Athletics. 1998. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "Basketball (W): Amy Williams, Head Coach". Rogers State University. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013.
  5. ^ "2015–16 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff: Amy Williams, Head Coach". University of South Dakota Athletics. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  6. ^ McKewon, Sam (April 11, 2016). "New coach Amy Williams, a former Husker women's hoops player, has to pick up a torn program's pieces". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved December 11, 2016.