Huskers Add Lewis-Jay to Coaching Staff

Lincoln-Former Washington assistant coach Kellie Lewis-Jay will join the Nebraska women’s basketball coaching staff for the 2007-08 season, Husker head coach Connie Yori announced on Tuesday.

Lewis-Jay comes to Nebraska after spending four seasons as an assistant coach for the Huskies, helping Washington to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2006 and 2007. Lewis-Jay fills the spot on the NU staff left by former assistant LaKale Malone.

Lewis-Jay was instrumental in helping the Huskies sign one of the nation's top recruiting classes for the 2007-08 season, as the six-player class was ranked eighth nationally at the time of signing by Blue Star Basketball on Nov. 8, 2006.

Lewis-Jay joined current Husker assistant coach Sunny Smallwood on the Washington staff in 2003-04, and both Lewis-Jay and Smallwood are graduates of Boise State.

"We think Kellie is a great fit for our program," Yori said. "She is bright, articulate, organized and a talented on-court coach. She is also an excellent person off the court. When you look at her coaching and playing credentials, it is easy to see that she is committed to academics and developing well-rounded student-athletes."

Lewis-Jay's duties at Washington included opponent scouting, coordinating the Husky defense, recruiting, on-floor coaching and serving as the team's academic coordinator.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to join Coach Yori and her staff at the University of Nebraska," Lewis-Jay said. "I believe in Coach Yori and her program and can't wait to get started to help build on the success."

A native of Auburn, Calif., Lewis-Jay was a standout at Boise State after attending Placer High School.

After completing her playing career, Lewis-Jay began her coaching career at the high school and club levels.

Lewis-Jay was named the head girls basketball coach at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho, for the start of the 1998-99 season.

She led Bishop Kelly to a five-year record of 87-33, including a runner-up showing at the 2002 state championships.

Lewis-Jay led the prep varsity team to a district championship in 2003, after guiding the junior varsity team to district crowns in 1999 and 2000. Lewis-Jay was also named the District 3 Junior Varsity Coach of the Year in 2000.

Aside from her prep coaching duties, Lewis-Jay helped establish the Idaho Elite in 1999, a competitive summer basketball team based in Boise.

Members of Lewis-Jay's Idaho Elite team included 25 all-state athletes, as well as 12 NCAA Division I signees. Among those standout players were Huskies Maggie O'Hara and Emily Florence.

Led by O'Hara and Florence, Idaho Elite won the 2002 Midsummer Nights Madness Tournament title in Seattle.

Lewis-Jay played her first two years of collegiate basketball for June Daugherty at Boise State, which included the last two of Daugherty's tenure with the Broncos (1994-95, 1995-96). At BSU, Lewis-Jay was a four-year letterwinner and a two-time team captain. Her list of collegiate accolades included a pair of All-Big West Conference selections in 1997 and 1998, as well as Boise State team MVP honors those same seasons.

During her senior campaign, Lewis-Jay earned Big West Conference All-Tournament honors, after being named the MVP of the Boise State Tournament. She was also honored as a two-time recipient of the National Arthur Ashe Scholar Athlete Award in 1997 and 1998.

Along with displaying excellence on the court, Lewis-Jay performed well in the classroom. She was a four-time academic all-conference pick, including 1995 and 1996 selections to the Big Sky team and 1997 and 1998 nods to the Big West team.

Lewis-Jay's name still appears among many single-season and career top-10 lists in Bronco history.

She ranks second in three-point field goals made (163), second in three-point field goals attempted (484), second in free-throw percentage (.807) and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (.337). Her 829 career points also rank 20th in the Bronco record books.

Lewis-Jay established single-season school records for three-pointers made (76) and attempted (205) in 1996-97, which have since been surpassed. Her 61 treys in 1997-98 rank seventh all-time. Her .830 free-throw shooting percentage in 1997-98 remains the fourth-best on the BSU single season list in that category.

Lewis-Jay also shares the single-game school record for three-pointers with seven. An outstanding all-around player, Lewis-Jay led the Broncos in six categories during her junior season, including scoring (12.2 ppg), field goals made (107), three-pointers made (76), free-throw percentage (.765), assists (69) and steals (48).

She also was the team leader in three-pointers made in 1998 (61) and 1995 (20), in three-point field goal percentage in 1995 (.328), in free-throw percentage in 1998 (.830), and assists in 1998 (76).

Lewis-Jay was a standout at Placer High School in Auburn, Calif., where she graduated in 1994 as the school's valedictorian. She led Placer to four Sierra Foothill League Championships. Lewis-Jay earned league MVP honors during her senior campaign, and was also a three-time all-conference selection. She was a three-year team captain and two-time team MVP.

Lewis-Jay was born Feb. 18, 1976. She is married to Chris Jay and the couple has a daughter, Kobie, who is 3 1/2.

Kellie earned her bachelor's degree in social science/public affairs with an emphasis in sociology and psychology from Boise State in 1998.