Penn State names Tanisha Wright as new women's basketball coach

The search for a new women's basketball coach has come to an end for Penn State. The school has announced the hiring of former Penn State Lady Lion Tanisha Wright as the next head coach of the women's basketball program. “Tanisha Wright embodies everything this program stands for," Penn State athletics director Pat Kraft said in a released statement on Thursday.

"She is one of the greatest to ever wear a Lady Lion uniform, and she went on to spend 19 years competing and coaching at the highest level of women’s professional basketball, including winning a championship as a player. " Wright spent four years with Penn State and played in the second-most games by a player in school history. Wright, a three-time First-team All-Big Ten player and three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was a part of the last Penn State women's basketball team to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament (2003-04) under former head coach Rene Portland.

Penn State went to the NCAA tournament each year Wright was playing for the program, with two trips to the Sweet Sixteen and once to the Elite Eight. Wright sits fifth in the Penn State record books with 771 field goals. Wright was named an All-American by the USBWA in 2005.

“Penn State will always be home to me, and it is an incredible honor to return to this program as head coach,” Wright said in a released statement. “This University shaped me as a student athlete, and I understand the pride, tradition and expectations that come with wearing the Lady Lion uniform. " Wright was the No.