Tell me about your experience as a basketball player and what some of your favorite memories are of that time.
I played basketball at East Anchorage High School in Alaska. We won the state championship my senior year, beating Wasilla High School, which is one of my favorite memories. After high school I played at University of Oregon. We made it to the national tournament three out of my four years. Some of my favorite memories from college are playing USC, Texas and Georgia, all of whom were ranked no one the season we played them. While we didn’t beat any of those teams, all the games were close and it was great playing against some of the greatest players in women’s basketball: Cheryl Miller, Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Edwards. My favorite memories though are just playing with my teammates. I am still friends with a number of my teammates and the quality of the people with whom I played is amazing. I learned so much from them.
Could you tell me about your favorite coach (one you had or a famous one) and how they influence your coaching style?
I think the people that influence my coaching style the most are the two coaches I was an assistant coach under. The first one was Mike Petersen; he was an assistant at Oregon when I played and then I worked with him at Gonzaga for two years. He influenced me because he had a good balance between focus, competitiveness and humor. My nature is to be humorous and competitive which can turn into sarcasm when mixed so, learning how to balance that has been helpful. I also learned a bunch about the X’s and O’s of coaching from Mike. The other influence was Elaine Elliott, the head coach at Utah. I worked with Elaine for five years at Utah, and learned how to get the most out of players. I believe she is one of the basketball minds in the country.
Why did you decide to coach here?
Long story short, I felt it was time to move on to something different from my assistant coaching position at University of Utah. I had applied for both teaching and coaching jobs, and had an interview at a number of schools in the Northwest. I felt that I was going to end up in the Spokane area. I felt God was calling me here, and then I didn’t get any of the jobs. Then the Whitworth job opened. I was done looking for jobs and was content to stay at Utah another year when Whitworth called me about the position as someone had recommended me for the job. In less than six weeks I had moved here and started the job.
What is your favorite thing about coaching here?
I love the people. We get to coach well-rounded individuals who have a desire to be successful in all areas. I love the people of the community—the support for each other at Whitworth is obvious, especially in our department.
What is the best memory you have of coaching here?
On the court, would beating George Fox on the final day of the regular season in 2002. We had never won at GFU, and we had to win to make it to the conference playoffs. We won on a rebound putback with around four seconds left. And we went in as the second seed in our tournament. I can still see the celebration of the game in my head. It was really fun. The other memories are going to players’ weddings, celebrating a big moment in their lives and having the opportunity to see how Whitworth influenced the women they have become.
What is your favorite thing about this years’ girls and what is a goal you have for them?
I love this teams’ competitiveness and passion. They work really hard at what they do, and they have fun together too. My goal for them is to live up to what is written on the back of their t-shirts: All Out, All the Time, All Season. I know if we do that great things are in store for this team.
Contact Julia Bechtold at julia.bechtold@whitworthian.com.
Coach offers expertise, talent
Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
 "Photo: Kelsey Bacon/Whitworthian")
Kelsey Bacon/Whitworthian
Women's basketball coach Helen Higgs looks on during a November practice in the Fieldhouse.
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