Winthrop women’s assistant coaches leaving

Two Winthrop women’s basketball assistant coaches – Christena Hamilton and Carlotta Kloppenburg – have resigned their positions in order to accept coaching opportunities at other universities.

A release from the school said Hamilton has been hired by Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., while Kloppenburg is pursuing a position with a Pac-12 Conference school.

During her five years on the Winthrop staff, Hamilton helped lead the Eagles to the program’s first Big South Conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance in 2013-14 and the women’s first postseason victory in the 2013 National Invitational Tournament.

Kloppenburg, a native of California, served on Coach Kevin Cook’s staff for one year as a graduate assistant and last season as a full-time assistant.

The pair follows recent news that three players announced they would transfer this offseason. Graduates Aliyah Kilpatrick and Schaquilla Nunn have both left the program, with Nunn landing at Tennessee this week, while freshman Arianne Whitaker is also leaving.

Kevin Cook’s program is coming off a 4-26 season in which it was beset by injuries, including a broken foot suffered by Nunn, the reigning Big South defensive player of the year. Nunn will be eligible immediately at Tennessee and will have one year left to play.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Winthrop women’s assistant coaches leaving."