Helen Williams enters her fourth season as the head coach at
Merrimack College.
Williams returned the Warriors to the playoffs in 2008-09, posting
an 8-14 conference record to go with a 9-19 overall record.
Merrimack picked up big conference wins over rivals Bentley, Lowell
and AIC and posted a road win at Saint Rose late in the season to
push them into the playoffs. Amanda Shannon was second in the
conference in scoring, earning second-team All-Conference honors.
Three of Williams’ recruits, Hannah DeGraffinreed, Gennifer
Roy, and Tiffany Colon figured prominently in the Warriors’
success.
In 2007-08, she guided the Warriors to a 9-19 record in her second
season. Shannon was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Third Team
while Kara Borelli earned All-Academic Honors. The Warriors
finished with a 7-21 record in her first season as head coach.
An aspiring broadcaster, Williams served as a color analyst for
the 2009 Mid Eastern Athletic Association (MEAC) men’s and
women’s basketball championships.
Williams was hired on May 1, 2006. She came to Merrimack College
with 17 years of Division I women’s basketball coaching
experience and 19 years of coaching in women’s basketball.
She joined the Warrior athletics family after having served the
last four seasons as the first assistant and recruiting coordinator
at Princeton.
While with the Tigers, Williams was responsible for recruiting,
on-floor coaching, scouting, and game preparation. She helped
Princeton to a 21-7 overall record and a 12-2 Ivy League record in
2006-07, both school bests for the program. During her time in New
Jersey, she coached four Ivy League All-Rookies, including the 2005
Rookie of the Year, and two All-Ivy League selections.
Prior to her post at Princeton, Williams spent time as an
assistant coach on staff at the United States Naval Academy
(1997-2002), Western Michigan (1993-97), South Florida (1991-93),
Wake Forest (1989-91), and Division II Lenoir-Rhyne (1987-89). In
1998, her Navy team was crowned Patriot League Champions. In
addition, Williams served as head coach of the 2002 All-Navy team,
where she was responsible for developing and implementing a
four-week plan to prepare for and compete in the Armed Forces
Tournament.
Williams graduated from Wake Forest University in 1987 with a
bachelor’s degree in health science. She was a four-year
member of the Demon Deacon women’s basketball team. She
received her Master’s degree in counselor education from
Lenoir-Rhyne in 1989.
Williams is a member of several organizations, including the Black
Coaches Association and the Women’s Basketball Coaches
Association. She is also a member of the American Association of
University Women and the Business and Professional Women’s
Foundation. She has served as a staff member and director at
several camps and clinics, and she has worked on numerous
presentations and publications within the women’s basketball
coaching community.
