Entering her ninth season at Wright State and her 11th year overall as a head coach, Bridgett Williams already has many experiences in building a program from the ground up and in maintaining established, successful programs.</p>
<p>Wright State posted a winning record in Horizon League play for the second consecutive season in 2008-09, marking the first time the program had ever done so. The Raiders are 48-34 in conference games over the last five years after going 25-51 in such contests during the previous five seasons.
WSU then capped off the season by winning its second conference tournament game on the road in program history a 64-59 decision at Valparaiso in the quarterfinal round of the Horizon League Tournament.
Freshman forward Molly Fox was an All-Newcomer Team selection, raising the total to 10 in the 15 years that Wright State has been a part of the League.
The 2008-09 campaign added another chapter of success to the program, one that has seen growth during Williams' tenure.
After being picked seventh in the Horizon League preseason poll in 2007-08, Wright State came on strong by going 11-7 in the League, tying the 2004-05 team for WSU's most wins ever in conference play, and finished in a tie for second in the standings. The Raiders then advanced to the Horizon League championship game for the second time in four years.
As a result, Williams was named as the Horizon League Co-Coach of the Year along with Green Bay's Matt Bollant.
In 2005-06, the Raiders posted a winning record at home for the third straight year at 6-5 after not previously reaching the milestone since 1997-98. Wright State also gave #7 Ohio State quite a battle well into the second half on the road, trailing just 53-45 with 11 minutes left to play.
The 2004-05 season saw WSU have its most successful campaign ever in Division I. The 19-11 overall record was the best for the program at the Division I level and the 19 wins were the second-most ever in the 36-year history of the program. The 9.5-game improvement from the season before (9-20) was the third-best of any Division I team from 2003-04, trailing just Robert Morris and Cal State Northridge.
In the Horizon League, the Raiders posted their first-ever winning conference record at 11-5 and tied for second in the standings, making it the highest conference finish ever as well.
Wright State was 10-6 at home, the most since moving to the Nutter Center in 1990-91 and since winning 11 home games in 1987-88, the first season in Division I. The Raiders also had their highest road win total at 8-5, which included a 6-2 mark in Horizon League play.
WSU also picked up its first neutral court win in seven years with a decision over BYU (a later Women's National Invitation Tournament participant) at the Hilton Woodland Hills Beach Classic and that game also gave the Raiders a 6-5 nonleague record, their first winning mark since 1995-96.
In 2003-04, Wright State hosted a league tournament game for the first time and won just its second post-season game ever as the Raiders defeated Youngstown State in overtime in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament.
During the 2002-03 campaign, Wright State recorded its first-ever win over a ranked team as the Raiders defeated #16 Green Bay 73-70 at the Nutter Center on January 25.
Named the fifth head coach in Raider history on June 4, 2001, Williams came to Wright State after being the head coach of Chicago State. In just two short seasons there, Williams made great strides with the Cougars, picking up 10 wins in 2001, the second-most in school history, after not winning a game the season before and totaling nine wins altogether over the previous seven years. Chicago State also set a school record during the 2000-01 season with eight home wins and the seven league wins were two more than the total earned by the team in Mid-Con play over the previous six seasons. Chicago State then capped things off by advancing to the second round of the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament for the first time ever. As a result, Williams was selected as the conference's Coach of the Year.
Away from the court, Williams also made an immediate impact as two Chicago State players were named to the Academic All-Conference Team and, in 2000, she conducted the first basketball camps sponsored by the women's basketball program in Chicago State's history.
Prior to arriving at Chicago State, Williams served as the recruiting coordinator at fellow Horizon League member UIC. She was instrumental in UIC's signing of a top 20 class in 1999. She was also an assistant coach at Kansas State University for two years, an assistant at the University of Wisconsin for two years, and an assistant at her alma mater, Southern Illinois-Carbondale, for two years.
During her tenure at Kansas State (1996-98), Williams' recruiting and coaching efforts contributed to the Wildcats' first NCAA tournament appearance in 10 years in 1997. She was also the academic liaison between the basketball staff and academic affairs office. She coordinated all academic activities of the team, and saw seven players earn grade point averages of 3.0 or better, with six players earning Academic All-Big 12 honors.
While at Wisconsin (1994-96), she worked under the tutelage of Jane Albright-Dieterle. She served as the assistant recruiting coordinator and formulated strategy that signed the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation in 1995. In part because of her efforts, Wisconsin had its first winning season in 10 years, received back-to-back NCAA tournament bids, and posted consecutive 20-win seasons.
Williams was a standout player for Southern Illinois-Carbondale from 1984-88. During her junior season, she was named her team's captain and most valuable player, Most Valuable Player of the Gateway Conference, Most Valuable Player of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics at SIU-Carbondale, and a Kodak All-America selection. The Salukis earned their first NCAA tournament appearance in 1986 and returned to the tournament in 1987. She was inducted into the Southern Illinois-Carbondale Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993 and named to the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Centennial Team in 2007.
Williams earned a bachelor of science in advanced technical studies in 1988, and a master of science in vocational educational studies/business education in 1991. Formerly Bridgett Bonds, she is married to Kevin Williams and they have a 12-year-old son, Brandon, and an eight-year-old daughter, Kirsten.</p>
