WSSU stays within family to hire women’s coach

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State has stayed inside the family after hiring L’Tona Lamonte as its women’s basketball coach.

Lamonte, a former two-sport athlete at WSSU who is also a Winston-Salem native, was assistant coach last season at N.C. Central. Before that, she spent two seasons as an assistant at Belmont University and will bring nearly 14 years of experience into her first season as a head coach.

“She’s the perfect fit for what we wanted,” said WSSU athletics director Tonia Walker. “It came down to her belief in Winston-Salem State, her knowledge of the game and her overall personality stood out for us.”

Lamonte, who went by L’Tona Samuels when she was a student at WSSU, is a Reynolds High School graduate. She went to WSSU and played basketball and softball, where in her junior season in 1998 she led Division II in stolen bases. Because of injuries in basketball she went full-time with softball for her final two years at WSSU.



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