DeUnna Hendrix

DeUnna Hendrix was one of Howard County’s outstanding high school basketball players and since has enjoyed similar success as the first local woman to be an NCAA Division I college head coach.

Hendrix began her coaching career with a four-year stint on the Jacksonville University staff. She then moved on to Division I Big South Conference program High Point University in 2011 and one year later was named head coach. In her second season, the Lady Panthers compiled a 22-11 won-lost record, 16-4 in the Big South, and earned conference Coach of the Year honors. Both win totals were high marks in the program’s Division I history. In 2014-15, High Point’s 20 victories included decisions over William and Mary, Coastal Carolina, Winthrop, UNC Ashville and Gardner-Webb.  In three seasons Hendrix’s teams have compiled a 59-36 overall record, 41-17 in Big South play.

Hendrix played four seasons at the University of Richmond, sparking the Lady Spiders to 72 wins, 37 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. She was the team’s co-captain her junior and senior seasons. Career highlights include scoring 13 points in a 98-88 victory over Florida; hitting a game-winning 3-point shot at Rhode Island; and registering a career-high 14 points in a win at Virginia. A four-year letter-winner, Hendrix played in 104 games, drawing 57 starts.

In four seasons at Kokomo High School, she led the Lady Kats to an 85-9 record that included four North Central Conference championships. Her senior season, 2002-03, the Kats became the school’s first team to finish unbeaten (26-0), capturing the program’s third IHSAA state championship. An Indiana All-Star, Hendrix scored 1,210 career points, fourth all-time highest among county girls.