Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Marcy Hendricks Coach Jamie Craighead [Click to enlarge]

The Sacramento State women's basketball team will have a new look this season. Jamie Craighead, the new head coach, has been a three-sport kid for as long as she could remember. Basketball, however, eventually surpassed her other talents and became her pride and joy.

Despite this season being her first as a head coach, Craighead is eager to get started.

She said she was surprised and excited when she found out she got the job.

"I really had no idea that I was going to be given the job. When coach Muscatell took Oregon's offer, I just shared my interest in staying. (Sac State Athletics Director Terry Wanless) had to determine if they wanted to look elsewhere to fill the position," Craighead said.

When former head coach Dan Muscatell accepted the offer from Oregon University to take a job as an assistant coach there, Sac State was forced to fill his position.

In 2008, Craighead spent the season as an associate head coach. She helped coordinate the team's offense and closely worked with the perimeter players.

Prior to becoming a Hornet, Craighead gained experience as an assistant coach with Portland State, where she worked with post players. Prior to that she worked as an assistant coach at Division II-powerhouse Seattle Pacific, where she stood alongside two-time NCAA Division II Coach of the Year Gordy Presnell.

Her personal experience as a player, however, appears to be even more impressive. As an alumna of Oregon, Craighead led her team to three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and in her senior season she helped the Ducks win the 2002 Women's National Invitation Tournament Championship.

Craighead said she always thought she would become a coach.

"I was a three-sport kid ever since I was little. Basketball was always just in me. I aspired to play for a Pac-10 school, and I worked hard to do so at Oregon," Craighead said. "After college I wanted to keep going - I kind of always knew that I would end up doing this. I love coaching."

Craighead said the initial hire was supposed to be a temporary position. She had no idea that she would be awarded a full-time position.

"It took three weeks to figure everything out, and it worked to my favor," she said.

Craighead's goal is for the Hornets is to improve even more than last season. She is adamant on making it to the Big Sky Tournament again and stressed that her squad is more than capable.

"The goal for any NCAA team of any division is to make it to their conference championship. I personally see us competing to finish within the top three, and I believe we can accomplish that goal," Craighead said. "The girls have been awesome and are working very hard."

For six years, Muscatell worked the women's basketball program very hard and with his own techniques and styles. However, the returning Hornets have quickly adapted to Craighead's style of play.

Sac State senior power forward Charday Hunt found the transition from Muscatell to Craighead to be smooth.

"Having Jamie as the head coach this season was very easy for us. She was one of our assistant coaches last year so we have no doubt that she knows what she's talking about," Hunt said. "We grew very close to her, so I think the change will be very beneficial for us."

Junior guard Jasmine Cannady finds that Craighead's new system fits the team better than what was used in previous seasons.

"The fast style program introduced to us this season is a lot easier for us to comply," Cannady said.


Britney Rossman can be reached at brossman@statehornet.com

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