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Caroline McCombs enters her fourth season with the Pitt women's basketball team as an assistant coach after six years with the Crusaders of Valparaiso University as both an assistant and associate head coach. McCombs, who spearheads the recruiting efforts for the team also works with the development of the perimeter players, including two-time All-Big East first team member, 2008 NCAA Spokane All-Region team member and preseason All-American Shavonte Zellous, as well as league all-freshman team members Jania Sims (2006-07) and Taneisha Harrison (2007-08). McCombs continues her daily responsibilities of on-floor coaching, scouting and scheduling. McCombs is also very active in the community, speaking to the seven Panther Club chapters across the state. "This is an exciting time here at the University for women's basketball," McCombs said. "We continue to reach our goals and strive for championships. The story that we are writing here at Pitt with the players, staff and administrators is endless, not only on the court but in the community and in the classroom." McCombs, a native of Medina, Ohio, began her career at Valparaiso University, coaching there from 1999-2005. Prior to the 2004-05 season, McCombs was promoted to associate head coach and maintained that position until joining the Panthers. During her career at Valparaiso, McCombs assisted the Crusaders in many team accomplishments. In 2001-02, the Crusaders won a school-record 26 games and advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals, were Mid-Continent Conference regular-season champions and tournament finalists. That success was repeated in the 2003-04 season as the Crusaders were the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament champions. McCombs also coached the Crusaders to two NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament appearances during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In addition to their work on the court, Valparaiso earned a spot among the WBCA Academic Top 25 teams from 1999-2004. McCombs graduated from Youngstown State in 1998 with a degree in applied science. While attending Youngstown State, McCombs earned an impressive list of accomplishments for the Penguins' basketball team, including places on the Mid-Continent Conference Second Team in 1996 and 1998, and on the Mid-Continent All-Tournament Team three consecutive years from 1996-98. She also left her mark in the record books at Youngstown State. At guard she started 112 of 115 career games and scored 1,577 career points, finishing her career as the school's sixth leading scorer. McCombs is also among the school leaders with 146 career three-pointers, 493 assists, and 236 steals. After McCombs graduated from Youngstown State, she played European professional women's basketball, competing in the Czech Basketball Federation and European Cup in 1998. She continued her education, receiving her master's degree from Valparaiso in 2001. That year, she was also inducted into the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame in Ohio. McCombs is also a member of the Youngstown State Athletics Hall of Fame (2008). BACKGROUND ON MCCOMBS |
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