Coach James Hill Jr. Wins 200th Career Game

MANSFIELD, Pennsylvania (12/6/17) –  On the surface, Virginia State defeated the Mountaineers of Mansfield University 52-51 tonight at Marion Decker Gymnasium. However, the victory had much more meaning than usual. When the final horn sounded, James Hill Jr. found himself the winner of his 200th career game.

Coach Hill has been at the helm of the VSU women's basketball program for the past eleven seasons. Hill currently holds a 200-125 overall coaching record. Before taking over the program at VSU, Hill served as assistant women's basketball coach at Shaw University from 2003-2006.

James Hill Jr., has elevated the women's basketball program since arriving on campus at Virginia State University in 2006. He has secured five 20 plus winning seasons since arriving at VSU, the most in VSU women's basketball school history. In 2013-14, Hill was recognized for a year of excellence where the women's basketball program held the best start to the season (11-0 record) in school history, longest winning streak (15 games), best record since 1988 (24-1), highest National Collegiate Athletic Association Ranking in School History (#10), ranked first in Historically Black Colleg53e and University out of all the NCAA Divisions, made an NCAA appearance and had the best basketball overall record (25-3) in VSU's men's and women's basketball history. Coach Hill was named the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Associations (CIAA) Coach of the Year three times and HBCU Mid-Major Coach of the Year twice.

Under Hill's leadership, the 2013-14 team were CIAA Northern Division Champions, three of his players were selected to the First Team All-Conference, and the Trojans were ranked no.1 in defense and 5th in the regional ranking. Coach Hill also received the Big House Gaines Award during the 2014-15 season. In 2015, Trojan women's basketball team claimed the CIAA Championship Title, while most recently Hill was named Coach of the Year by SportsTalk 1450 WCLM for the 2016-2017 season. Hill ensures that the team is well rounded in academic success and community outreach.

Under the leadership of James Hill Jr., The VSU Trojans finished its 2017 season with an impressive 22-8 overall record. The CIAA Co-Northern Division Champs finished the final game of the regular season (19-7, 11-5 CIAA) with a 69-50 victory over the Lady Lions of Lincoln University on the road. The Virginia State University women's basketball team secured its twentieth win of the season with an impressive 73-40 win over St. Augustine's University in the first round of the 2017 CIAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Bojangles Coliseum on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. In addition to a very impressive season the Virginia State University women's basketball team secured the 10th spot in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Atlantic regional rankings.

Virginia State University Head Women's Basketball Coach was inducted into the Shaw University's Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, November 2, 2017. Coach Hill continues to add on to his long list of accomplishment with the start of the 2017-18 season as the Trojans remains undefeated!

Congratulations to Coach Hill on his monumental win!

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