A graduate of Stanford University and a current member of the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting, Olympia Scott-Richardson is in her first season as the head coach of the William Smith basketball program.

“Olympia Scott-Richardson is the right person at the right time to assume the head coaching position for the Willliam Smith basketball program,” Athletics Director Susan Bassett said. ”We are fortunate to have attracted an individual who has played for one of the best coaches in women’s college basketball [Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer] and who has played at the highest level in the WNBA.

“Olympia is an impressive leader and we’re thrilled to have her join our staff.”

Scott-Richardson brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience to the Herons. A veteran of six seasons in the WNBA, she was selected in the second round (11th overall) by the Utah Starzz in 1998. During the 1999 season, Scott-Richardson was traded to the Detroit Shock, where she played parts of two seasons, taking a brief time out for the birth of her daughter, BreAzia.

Scott-Richardson enjoyed her greatest playing success during the 2001 and 2002 seasons as a member of the Indiana Fever. She averaged 9.1 ppg and 5.9 rpg in 63 games with the Fever, before losing the 2003 season to a knee injury. Scott-Richardson played in 34 games during the 2004 season with the Sting. A team captain in both Detroit and Indiana, she was the defensive captain for Charlotte and was among the league leaders in blocks per 40 minutes this season.

A former assistant coach at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif., Scott-Richardson has coached AAU basketball, as well as numerous camps and clinics. In 2002, she started her own business, Olympia Hoops, which provides a wide-range of services for kids and families, including basketball camps and clinics, motivational speeches, personal fitness training and parenting seminars.

A 1998 graduate of Stanford with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Scott-Richardson was a two-time All-Pac 10 first-team selection. She helped the Cardinal to three Final Four appearances and four Pac 10 championships. Following her senior year with the Cardinal, Scott-Richardson was named both an Associated Press honorable mention All-American and a Kodak All-Region selection.

A native of Los Angeles, Scott-Richardson was born on August 5, 1976, the final day of the Montreal Olympics, hence her first name.