Through just two seasons at the helm of the UCF women's basketball program, Joi Williams has already engineered a remarkable turnaround, culminating in wins on four consecutive days as the fifth-seeded Knights claimed the title in the Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 8, beating Southern Miss 65-54 in overtime. With the title, Williams directed UCF to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1999 and third overall.

In the NCAA Tournament, the Knights battled tough against third-seeded North Carolina before falling 85-80 in the first round of the Oklahoma City Regional.

The UCF turnaround was visible prior to the Knights' success in New Orleans. During the regular season, Williams pushed a young basketball team picked to finish last in the C-USA standings through a rocky 2-11 non-conference schedule. Keeping confidence and energy high, Williams then guided the squad to an 11-5 record and a tie for second in C-USA regular season play. The 11 league wins matched the program's total in its first three seasons in C-USA combined, and Williams' peers took notice by voting her the 2009 C-USA Coach of the Year.

Her impact has also been felt on individual Knights, with UCF players winning the C-USA Player of the Week award a league-high five times in 2008-09, sophomore Emma Cannon garnering first-team all-conference honors and the tournament MVP trophy and sophomore Chelsie Wiley being tabbed third-team all-conference and to the C-USA All-Tournament team.

Williams' imprint on the program started in her first season, 2007-08, despite the club finishing with just a 10-20 record. With one of the youngest teams in the country and freshmen playing a nation-high 91 percent of the minutes, the team won 10 games for the first time in three seasons and increased its scoring average by more than 10 points from the previous year.

"We made strides in many areas that first season," Williams said. "Our team grew tremendously from the time they walked onto campus last year until the end of the season. We have built on that growth over the offseason and look to the future with great excitement."

It is that competitive attitude that impressed the UCF administration before hiring Williams to lead the Knights, and Director of Athletics Keith Tribble likes the direction he sees the program headed under Williams.

"Coach Williams has brought tremendous excitement to the program at UCF," Tribble said. "Her passion for the game and commitment to winning is undeniable."

A Florida native, Williams returned to the Sunshine State on March 29, 2007, when she was named the 11th head coach in UCF women's basketball history. One of the top recruiters in the nation, Williams came to Orlando after four seasons as the head coach at Murray State.

In her final campaign with the Racers, Williams led Murray State to a 21-10 mark in 2006-07 and a trip to the Women's National Invitation Tournament. The 20-victory season was the first for the program in 18 years. The WNIT berth marked only the second postseason appearance in Murray State history.

In her final year at Murray State, Williams guided her squad to a 15-5 Ohio Valley Conference record, which was good for second in the league standings. The Racers also advanced to the OVC Championship title game.

Following the regular season, the Racers' Joi Scott was named the OVC Player of the Year, and Amber Guffey earned a spot on the All-OVC Second Team.

Murray State finished the campaign among the national leaders in several statistical categories, including free-throw percentage, field-goal percentage and scoring offense. Scott was also recognized as a Kodak/Women's Basketball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-America.

Williams was hired as Murray State's head coach in March 2002 and quickly made an impact. The Racers were selected to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the OVC preseason poll, but Murray State concluded the regular season with four-straight victories to finish fifth.

In 2005-06, Murray State paced the OVC in scoring and was ranked 14th nationally in free-throw percentage.

Williams' players also excelled off of the court as the Racers were recognized as OVC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll recipients on 12 occasions during her tenure.

Williams is no stranger to the Sunshine State. Born and raised in Jacksonville, she played on the collegiate level at USF from 1984-88. She earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from USF in 1988.

Williams spent 12 seasons on the staff at Florida, serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Carol Ross from 1990-2002. During Williams' tenure, the Lady Gators participated in the NCAA Tournament nine times.

While at Florida, Williams was recognized as one of the top recruiters in the country. During her time in Gainesville, the Gators went 247-121 (.671). Williams was responsible for the arrival of every student-athlete into the program.

She helped attract five All-America selections to Florida, and nine standouts who were recruited by and played under Williams were selected in the Women's National Basketball Association Draft.

DeLisha Milton-Jones was the 1997 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and the first UF player ever selected to the Kodak All-America First Team. Milton-Jones was also a member of the gold medal winning 2000 and 2008 United States Olympic women's basketball teams and the 1998 and 2002 USA World Championship women's basketball teams.

After coaching at Florida, Williams was hired as the recruiting coordinator at Clemson, where she worked for head coach Jim Davis before being hired at Murray State.

7/21/09