May 18, 2005

Melissa Parker	Leah Frierson

CAROL OWENS COMPLETES HUSKIE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STAFF WITH MELISSA PARKER, LEAH FRIERSON
DeKALB, IL - Don't be too surprised if new Northern Illinois University women's basketball boss Carol Owens isn't tempted to have her coaching staff suit up for a practice or two.

Now that Owens completed the staff with the naming of Melissa Parker as the third assistant and Leah Frierson as director of basketball operations, Owens and Co. have both the height and experience to cover every position, as well as every offensive or defensive scheme. Parker, an assistant for the past two seasons at Loyola (IL) University and a former point guard for the University of Illinois, and Frierson, a two-year assistant from St. Andrews Presbyterian College and a downstate junior college standout, join NIU Hall of Famers Owens and E.C. Hill, a Chicago native and former WNBA player, plus Molly Murray, a former Big Ten Conference player and assistant from the University of Michigan. "I'm extremely excited about the staff as a whole. I believe they complement me and will help us in producing the kind of competitive program that will succeed athletically, academically, and socially. One that the university and community will be proud of and will want to support," Owens said.

A prep standout for Elgin High School prior to a stellar career with the Illini, Parker joins the NIU staff after spending the last two years at Loyola under Mary Helen Walker, whose Ramblers posted a 72-54 victory (12-1-04) over Northern Illinois. Prior to Loyola, Parker served as a graduate assistant at Florida State University from 2000-2002 when ex-Huskie aide Sue Semrau turned around the Lady Seminole program.

FSU was 32-27 during her time in Tallahassee with the 2000-01 campaign seeing Florida State reach the second round of the NCAA tournament. One of the regular-season highlights included a 71-69 triumph over then No. 4-ranked Duke University as the Seminoles put together a 19-12 campaign.

"Originally I knew about Melissa as a player when recruiting for Notre Dame, and then coach Semrau talked to me about her at the Final Four. She's yet another member of our staff with good contacts in Illinois and Chicago," Owens noted. "She's eager, very organized, and an extremely hard worker. I expect her to help E.C. coach our guards, assist with recruiting and scouting, serve as the liaison with the booster club, and co-direct our camps."

Parker - a First-Team All-State selection by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, the Associated Press, Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and the Champaign News-Gazette - left Elgin High School with 11 career records, including assists (896), three-pointers (161) and steals (429). An honorable mention All-America by Street & Smith's, adidas Blue Ribbon, plus USA Today in 1996, she earned IHSA all-tournament honors after leading the Maroons to the 1996 championship game where the squad finished second to Lincolnshire's Stevenson High School. In addition to being a three-time Sun-Times all-state pick, Parker was a three-time All-Area selection by the Tribune, Sun-Times and Arlington Heights Daily Herald. During the four years she started, EHS claimed four Upstate Eight Conference titles - while losing just one league game - four regional championships, three sectional plaques, one supersectional title.

As one of Illinois coach Theresa Grentz's initial recruits, Parker started her first 16 games with the Illini and won the Ralph Woods Free Throw Award as a frosh. Coming back from an ankle injury, Parker played in three NCAA contests for the 1986-87 Illini unit which claimed its only Big Ten Conference title (12-4). That 24-8 campaign was also the first of two NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances and four straight NCAA showings for the Illini during her tenure.

Parker, 27, still ranks third on the Illinois career three-pointers made (135) list with her 66 treys from 1998-99 representing the second-best single-season tally. The winner of the George Huff Academic award in 1999-2000, she missed the second half of her senior season due to post-concussion syndrome injury. She graduated from Illinois in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree in leisure studies and sports management before earning a Master of Science degree in sport administration from FSU in 2002.

Born in Centerville, Ill., Frierson grew up in Belleville and played prep ball for coach Paul James at Belleville East High School before joining coach Mike Juenger's program at Belleville Area College. After right knee surgery wipe off her initial year when the Dutchwomen posted a 30-5 mark, Frierson came back strong in helping the program finish second in the NJCAA Championships as part of a 33-3 campaign in 1999-2000. Although the school was renamed Southwestern Illinois College with the new nickname of Blue Storm, Frierson helped the program post a 20-10 mark and reach the NJCAA Region XXIV semifinals for a third straight season. The school's all-time career rebounding leader to this date, Frierson earned both All-Region XXIV and Great Rivers Athletic All-Conference honors during both of her final two campaigns.

Frierson, 24, earned a scholarship to Division I Austin Peay State University, where a torn ACL in her left knee cut short a 2001-02 first season. The 5-foot-11 forward came back as a senior to help APSU capture a second straight Ohio Valley Conference title as a defensive reserve. The latter Lady Governors' unit went undefeated in the OVC and came within two points of upsetting the University of North Carolina in a 2003 NCAA first-round game in Boulder, CO.
Despite her medical problems, Frierson always excelled in the classroom. While earning her Associate Arts Degree from Southwestern Illinois, she made the Athletic Director's Honor Roll from the fall of 1999 through the spring of 2001 and was included in "Who's Who Among Junior College Students."

At Austin Peay, she earned the prestigious Arthur Ashe Sports-Scholar Award in 2003 after having been on the Ohio Valley Commissioner's Honor Roll (3.25 gpa or higher) for 2002-03. She was a four-time honoree on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (3.0 gpa or higher) and made the Dean's List (3.50 gpa or higher) for the spring of 2002 and 2003.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in communications with a minor in sociology from Austin Peay in 2003, Frierson joined coach David Johnson's staff at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC, as a recruiting coordinator and assistant. The Knights registered their first-ever postseason win in 2004 and enjoyed school records for overall (12) and conference (8) wins until 2004-05. That's when SAPC had its most successful season at the Division II level with a 15-13 campaign.

In addition to working with the post players, she oversaw academic progress, recruiting, strength and conditioning plus compliance for the St. Andrews women's basketball program, Frierson directed the program's film exchange and community outreach programs along with serving as the school's Student Athlete Advisory Board Advisor. A graduate of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association "So You Want To Be A Coach" program held at the 2004 convention, Frierson is a member of that organization along with the Black Coaches Association, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and NCAA Leadership Action Academy. She is currently completing a Master of Science degree in sports administration from the University of North Carolina-Pembroke.

"I met Leah at the NCAA Women's Final Four and was very impressed with her. She brings a lot of energy, personality and a great work ethic that has made her highly recommended by everyone I spoke to," Owens said. "Her ultimate goal is to be a head coach and I'm convinced we can capitalize on her organizational skills in serving as co-director for our camps, supervising our film exchange as well as the managers and student coaches. In addition to helping with on-campus recruiting, she'll handle our day-to-day office operations."

ATTENTION AGATE EDITORS
TRANSACTIONS / DEALS
NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Named Melissa Parker assistant women's basketball coach and Leah Frierson director of women's basketball operations.

(For further information, please contact Steve Nemeth) -NIU-