The next era of Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball officially begins as the Otters selected Sarah Hopkins-Chery to be the eighth coach in program history. Hopkins-Chery joins the Otter staff after spending the last seven seasons at UC Merced.
"Thank you to Kirby Garry (@kirbygarry), Al Zitlau, and all of the committee for trusting in me to be the next coach to lead the Otter women's basketball program," says Hopkins-Chery. "I believe CSUMB is a great fit with great people who share my vision and are extremely supportive in the process."
"We are happy to welcome coach Hopkins-Chery to our Cal State Monterey Bay community," says Garry. "She has a proven track record as a head coach, having built a successful program with limited resources. Her work ethic, character, positivity and competitiveness are all qualities that give us confidence in her ability to build up our women's basketball program."
Hopkins-Chery takes the reins from CJ Vaifanua-Pace, who led the program through the tumultuous COVID pandemic – which included the cancelation of the entire 2020-21 campaign – in her four seasons as an Otter.
UC Merced went 103-66 (.609) record in seven seasons at the Bobcat helm, including a 57-17 mark (.770) in California Pacific Conference play. Longtime fans will remember the Cal Pac as the Otters' conference home before they joined the CCAA in 2004.
Hopkins-Chery led the Bobcats to winning records in her final six seasons, including an 18-8 mark and a 10-0 record in Cal Pac play during the 2021-22 season, when Merced finished fifth in the nation by allowing just 52.5 points per game.
Her teams averaged 15 wins per season, including a school-record 23 victory in 2018-19. They qualified for the postseason seven times, including NAIA Championship Tournament berths in 2016, 2017 and 2022.
She'll need to get to work quickly to rebuild a team that was decimated by injuries and COVID in 2021-22, playing a record-low 20 games while finishing 2-18 overall.
"As July is upon us, we will be hitting the ground running, finalizing our roster and staff, offering camps, as well as being out on the recruiting trail looking for future Otters," says Hopkins-Chery of her immediate plans. "I'm excited to get going, meet our community, and build new relationships with our Otter alum and fans."
She'll have some pieces with which to build, led by senior guard Lauryn Pointer, who finished second in the CCAA in scoring by averaging 15.9 points per game, a mark which ranks No. 2 in the CSUMB single-season record book.
Freshman post player Sarah Shaw, who ranked amongst the top rebounds in the CCAA (6.3 rpg) last season, leads a promising stable of returning underclass players to complement Pointer, who is scheduled to be the lone senior on the 2022-23 roster.
As for what fans can expect in Year One, Hopkins-Chery highlights hard work and a striving for excellence as cornerstones of the foundation she plans to build.
"Our program is going to work hard on and off the court; striving for excellence in all that we do," says Hopkins-Chery. "We will compete every play, defend, push the pace and play together. CSUMB has had success in the past and we want to get back to that."
"I want to thank our committee for their time and energy and Kurt Patberg of Athletics Consulting Services for his support through the process," says Garry.
Source: https://otterathletics.com/news/2022/6/28/womens-basketball-otters-welcome-sarah-hopkins-chery-to-the-raft.aspx
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