ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop head women’s basketball coach Bud Childers announced the hiring of Tuonisia Turner-Lewis as assistant coach, Wednesday afternoon.
Turner-Lewis returns to the Lady Eagle program after serving as head coach of California State University Los Angeles for the past three years seasons. She replaces Laquanda Dawkins, who left to become the head coach of Southern Poly State University (GA).
"Coach Turner-Lewis brings a career of experience back to our program,” said Childers. “We're excited to have her back with us. She was instrumental in the recruitment of our first great class here (Ashley Fann, Tiff Rodd, Shelly Hankins, Ashley Haugtvedt and Yvonne van Daalen). She will step right in and be a valuable asset immediately.”
In 2004-05, Turner-Lewis served on Childers’ staff as an assistant coach before leaving in 2005 to become the girls’ varsity head coach at JSerra Catholic School in San Juan Capistrano, CA. At JSerra Catholic, Turner-Lewis was also a psychology and speech/debate teacher.
Turner-Lewis received a Bachelor of Arts in communications in 1992 from Louisville where she played for Childers and was voted the team’s most valuable player. As a student at U of L she worked as a sports information assistant while playing basketball and then following graduation she worked for one year in radio and television in Louisville as a color analyst for the Louisville women’s basketball games before entering the coaching profession as an assistant at Texas-Arlington.