Katie Abrahamson-Henderson

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Katie Abrahamson-Henderson
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamGeorgia
ConferenceSEC
Record34–30 (.531)
Biographical details
Born (1966-12-23) December 23, 1966 (age 57)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Alma materUniversity of Iowa
Playing career
1986–1988Georgia
1988–1990Iowa
Position(s)Power Forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1990–1992Duquesne (asst.)
1992–1994Maine (asst.)
1994–2000Iowa State (asst.)
2000–2002Michigan State (assoc. HC)
2002–2007Missouri State
2007–2008Washington (asst.)
2008–2010Indiana (assoc. HC)
2010–2016Albany
2016–2022UCF
2022–presentGeorgia
Head coaching record
Overall405–187 (.684)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4× America East regular season (2013–2016)
5× America East tournament (2012–2016)

American Athletic Conference regular season (2022)

American Athletic Conference tournament (2022)

Kay Noel "Katie" Abrahamson-Henderson[1] (born December 23, 1966)[2] is the current head coach of the University of Georgia's women's basketball team.

Early years

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Abrahamson-Henderson attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, graduating in 1985. She was a basketball player, averaging 44 points per game [3] and earning a place (1992) in the Washington Warriors Hall of Fame.[4] She was named an All-American on both the Parade and USA Today teams, and ranked as one of the top five basketball players in the nation as a senior.[1][5] She was also on the swim team, and considered attending college as a swimmer, but instead chose to focus on basketball. While in high school, she competed in the Iowa State Championships and placed first in the 50 yard freestyle, the 100 yard freestyle, and the freestyle relay.[3][6]

College

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Many schools recruited Katie Abrahamson; she eventually chose to attend the University of Georgia, to play for Andy Landers, now a Women's Basketball Hall of Fame coach.[5] In her freshman year, 1986, she helped the team win the Southeastern Conference title.[7] She played one more year at Georgia, but then chose to transfer back to her home state and play at Iowa for Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer. She played for the Hawkeyes for two years, advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen as a senior.[8] Abrahamson-Henderson completed her studies at Iowa, receiving a B.S. in physical education and sports administration in 1990. After graduating from Iowa, she attended Duquesne University, where she earned an M.S. in education in 1992.[7] She spent one year playing professional basketball in New Zealand.[9]

Coaching career

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While playing basketball in high school and college, Abrahamson-Henderson had no interest in pursuing a coaching career, expecting instead to become a fitness trainer or run a fitness club. However, while she was at graduate school at Duquesne University, one of the assistant coaches at Iowa became the head coach at Duquesne and talked her into being a graduate assistant coach for the team.[9]

She then went to the University of Maine to be an assistant coach for two years under Joanne McCallie.[10] After Maine, she spent six years as an assistant coach at Iowa State under Bill Fennelly, working alongside Brenda Frese who would go on to become the head coach at Maryland.[11] When McCallie took over the head coaching position at Michigan State, she persuaded Abrahamson-Henderson to join her as an associate head coach.[12]

Abrahamson-Henderson took her first head coaching position at Missouri State (then Southwest Missouri State). She helped lead the team to two regular-season championships in the Missouri Valley Conference as well as three postseason conference championships. The team made three appearances in the NCAA tournament and won the WNIT in 2005.[13] Following the 2007 season she unexpectedly resigned, and went on to accept an assistant coaching position at the University of Washington.[13][14] After a single year at Washington, Indiana's head coach Felisha Legette-Jack hired her as the associate head coach.[15]

In 2010, the University of Albany persuaded Abrahamson-Henderson to become its head coach; she remained for six years.[7] Albany had a losing record in each of the five prior years, but Abrahamson-Henderson improved the team to 16–14 in her first year.[16] In her second year, the team improved to finish second in the America East conference and earn a trip to the NCAA tournament. They finished first or tied for first in the conference each of the next four years, winning the conference tournament championship and an invitation to the NCAAs every year. In 2016 NCAAs, they upset fifth-seeded Florida, 61–59.[17]

In 2016, the University of Central Florida persuaded Abrahamson-Henderson to become its new head coach.[18] Similar to Albany, UCF had 5 consecutive losing seasons prior to Coach Abe's hiring, including a 7-23 record in 2015-16. Coach Abe would improve her squad instantly: a 21-12 record her first year, with a second round appearance in the WNIT. By her third year in 2018-19, UCF would go 26-7 and finish second place in the conference, earning their first NCAA Tournament bid since the 2010-11 season. In the 2021-22 season, Coach Abe would lead the Knights to their first regular season championship since 2004-05,[19] and their first tournament championship since 2010-11 with a 53-45 victory over USF.[20] That season, UCF would be ranked in both polls for the first time in school history.[21][22]

On March 26, 2022, she was announced as the third head coach in program history at The University of Georgia.

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Missouri State Lady Bears (Missouri Valley Conference) (2002–2007)
2002–03 Southwest Missouri State 18–13 11–7 4th NCAA First Round
2003–04 Southwest Missouri State 28–4 16–2 1st NCAA First Round
2004–05 Southwest Missouri State 25–8 15–3 1st WNIT Champion
2005–06 Missouri State 17–15 7–11 T–6th NCAA First Round
2006–07 Missouri State 7–21 3–15 10th
Missouri State: 95–61 (.609) 52–38 (.578)
Albany Great Danes (America East Conference) (2010–2016)
2010–11 Albany 16–14 9–7 5th
2011–12 Albany 23–10 14–2 2nd NCAA First Round
2012–13 Albany 27–4 17–0 1st NCAA First Round
2013–14 Albany 28–5 15–1 1st NCAA First Round
2014–15 Albany 24–9 14–2 T–1st NCAA First Round
2015–16 Albany 28–5 15–1 T–1st NCAA Second Round
Albany: 145–47 (.755) 84–13 (.866)
UCF Knights (American Athletic Conference) (2016–2022)
2016–17 UCF 21–12 9–7 4th WNIT Second Round
2017–18 UCF 22–11 12–4 3rd WNIT Second Round
2018–19 UCF 26–7 13–3 2nd NCAA First Round
2019–20 UCF 20–10 11–5 2nd No postseason - COVID-19
2020–21 UCF 16–5 12–2 2nd NCAA First Round
2021–22 UCF 26–4 14–1 1st NCAA Second Round
UCF: 131–49 (.728) 68–26 (.723)
Georgia Bulldogs (SEC) (2022–present)
2022–23 Georgia 22–12 9–7 T–5th NCAA Second Round
2023–24 Georgia 12–18 3–13 13th
Georgia: 34–30 (.531) 12–20 (.375)
Total: 405–187 (.684)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ a b "All About Abe". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  2. ^ "Women's Basketball". NCAA. Retrieved 16 Aug 2015.
  3. ^ a b "A conversation with ... Katie Abrahamson-Henderson". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  4. ^ "Hall of Fame - Athletics | Washington High School". crwash.cr.k12.ia.us. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  5. ^ a b "UAlbany women's basketball coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson on coaching, empowering women - Albany Business Review". Albany Business Review. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  6. ^ "Longtime Friends Facing Off at Duke". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  7. ^ a b c "Katie Abrahamson-Henderson Named University at Albany's Head Women's Basketball Coach". 19 April 2010. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  8. ^ Byrd, Jennifer (20 August 2002). "They call her 'Coach Abe'". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  9. ^ a b "UCF hires new women's basketball head coach". USA Today. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  10. ^ "Katie Abrahamson-Henderson Bio". Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  11. ^ "New UAlbany coach embraces 'great opportunity'". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  12. ^ Times-News. "Women's coaches hold bond for first-round NCAA clash at Duke". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  13. ^ a b "Abrahamson-Henderson Named Assistant Women's Hoops Coach :: UW head coach Tia Jackson solidifies her coaching staff with former Missouri State head coach". www.cstv.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  14. ^ Bubalo, Stephen (3 April 2007). "Coach unexpectedly resigns". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  15. ^ "Abrahamson-Henderson Joins IU Women's Basketball Staff". Indiana University. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  16. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  17. ^ "Albany vs. Florida - Game Recap - March 18, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  18. ^ Sentinel, Orlando. "UCF names Katie Abrahamson-Henderson its new women's basketball coach". Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  19. ^ "UCF Women's Hoop Squad Makes History". ucfknights.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  20. ^ "Women's Hoops Crowned AAC Champs". ucfknights.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  21. ^ "UCF Makes USA Today Top 25 Debut". ucfknights.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  22. ^ "Knights Make AP Top 25 Debut". ucfknights.com. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
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