Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop head women's basketball coach Lynette Woodard has added Semeka Randall-Lay to her coaching staff as associate head coach. Randall-Lay joins the women's basketball program after spending the 2018-19 season at the University of Cincinnati as an assistant coach. There she helped the team earn 24 wins and make a run in the WNIT. It was the program's first 20-win season in over 15 years.
The Ohio native also served as an assistant coach at Wright State (2016-2018), West Virginia University (2007-2008), Michigan State University (2004-2007) and Cleveland State University (2003-2004). During her time at Wright State the program had back-to-back 20 win seasons and two trips to the WNIT.
Randall-Lay has head coach experience from two Division I programs. She was Ohio University's women's basketball head coach from 2008-2013, where she coached seven All Mid-American Conference players and seven Academic All Mid-American Conference players. She also recruited and signed two of the top classes in program history. She went on to be the head coach of Alabama A&M's women's basketball program from 2013-2016.
"As a coach she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our staff, 17 years coaching Division I basketball to be exact" Woodard said. "There is absolutely no doubt that she will help us continue our upward trend, and help keep our program moving in the right direction. I am happy to have her on staff."
She is a University of Tennessee grad, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Speech Communication and was a member of the Lady Vols. She played under Pat Summit when the team won the NCAA Championship in 1998 with a perfect 39-0 record. Randall-Lay was the top 3 scorer on the team that season, averaging 15.9 points a game, earning honorable mention All-America recognition. She finished her college career with 1,915 points, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game, 286 steals and 236 assists.
The Seattle Storm selected Randall-Lay with the 17th overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft. She had a four-year career, playing with Seattle (2001-02), Utah (2002) and San Antonio (2003-04). She retired after the 2004 season to begin coaching.
During her time in the WNBA, she played internationally in Israel (2001-2002) and Greece (2003-2004). Randall-Lay started all 16 games both seasons.
"As a player, Semeka Randall-Lay was part of the great history at Tennessee … She knows championship basketball and that is our goal here at Winthrop University" Woodard said.
