June 22, 2002

Athens, Ga. --- Brenda Hill, the 1987 NAIA National Player of the Year, has joined the Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball staff as an assistant coach, head coach Andy Landers announced on Saturday.

Hill, a native of Gainesville, Ga., was a prep standout at East Hall High School and a three-year starter at Auburn from 1983-85. She was voted All-SEC in 1985 and also was named to the All-SEC Tournament team that season. Among Auburn's career statistical leaders, Hill still ranks No. 12 in scoring (1,222), No. 13 in rebounds (604) and No. 4 in blocked shots (126). She finished her collegiate career at North Georgia College in Dahlonega. There she led the Saints to a runner-up finish in the 1987 NAIA national tournament while averaging 29.5 points and 12 rebounds per game during the season. Hill played professionally in Sweden, Italy and Brazil from 1987-92.

"I am excited to have Brenda as an addition to our staff,"Landers said. "Her experience as a college basketball player, her contacts throughout the state and her teaching and coaching abilities make her an excellent choice. Brenda is someone I've admired for a long time, and I'm confident she will develop into one of the outstanding college coaches in the country."

Hill has been a member of the coaching staff at Gainesville High School for the last six seasons. She has been an assistant coach for teams which won the 2001 AAA State Championship and reached the quarterfinals of the 2002 State Tournament.

"I'm very excited and honored to have been considered for this coaching position," Hill said. "The opportunity to work under the tutelage of Coach Landers surpasses the dream of playing for him. I know with my abundance of experience, knowledge and love for the game of basketball, I will be an asset to the program.

"A lot of players dream about playing in the Southeastern Conference," Hill continued. "I have been blessed to have played and now coach in America's toughest conference. I'm looking forward to many years of sharing my knowledge as well gaining knowledge here at Georgia."

Hill fills the void in Landers' staff which was created when Terri Flournoy recently resigned her position to spend more time with her family after six seasons with the Lady Bulldogs.

Georgia's Lady Bulldogs own one of the most impressive competitive resumes in women's college basketball. Landers, a four-time National Coach of the Year, has averaged 24.5 wins a year in 23 seasons at Georgia, which ranks second among all active Division I coaches with as much tenure. The Lady Dogs are one of only five teams to reach the NCAA Final Four five times. In addition, Georgia has claimed seven SEC Championships and has won four SEC Tournaments.

Teresa Edwards, the most famous Lady Bulldog alum and arguably the greatest women's basketball player of all time, won her fourth Gold Medal while representing the United States in her fifth Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. Georgia also has been a leader in supplying talent to the WNBA. In April, Tawana McDonald became Georgia's fourth first-round draft pick in the last two years alone. Currently, 10 former Lady Bulldogs are on WNBA rosters, which ties Stanford and Tennessee for the second-most of any school in the nation.