NEWPORT NEWS — Following another standout season for the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport women’s basketball team, head coach Bill Broderick was named a finalist for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) National Coach of the Year award for the third consecutive season.
Last season, Broderick was named the D3hoops.com Co-National Coach of the Year with Juli Fulks (Transylvania), who earned the WBCA honor this season.
Broderick is one of only four coaches in Division III to finish among the finalists for the National Coach of the Year recognition in each of the last three seasons. Broderick is joined by Fulks, Lynn Hersey (Smith), and Meg Barber (NYU) after each has recorded consistent success over the last several years.
This season, Broderick was saddled with the loss of two first team All-Americans to graduation and started the season without two more starters from last year’s national runner-up squad. Fifth-year senior Katy Rader and junior Hannah Kaloi each started the season working back from injuries and were not available until weeks into the season. Then, six games into the year, another starter went down for the remainder of the year when junior Hannah Orloff suffered a season-ending injury.
Charged with defending the court following the finest season in program history with a roster that included 10 underclassmen and only one player with three years of collegiate games played, Broderick put together one of his finest coaching performances in 2023-24. The projected starting five did not play together until Jan. 31 and managed just seven games together due to injuries. Only three CNU players participated in all 29 games and just two Captains started in more than 20 games. Despite the inexperienced roster, Broderick and the Captains rolled through the regular season, capturing the team’s fifth consecutive conference title, and reached the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight year.
The Captains finished the year with a 27-2 overall record while leading the nation in bench scoring (36.1 ppg). CNU ranked eighth in Division III in scoring margin (+23.5) and sixth in turnover margin (+10.28).
This year’s finalists for WBCA NCAA Division III Coach of the Year were:
| Name | School |
| Bob Amsberry | Wartburg College |
| Meg Barber | New York University |
| William Broderick | Christopher Newport University |
| Jenna Cosgrove | Rhode Island College |
| Matthew Donohue | Catholic University |
| Juli Fulks | Transylvania University |
| Kendra Hassell | Hardin-Simmons |
| Lynn Hersey | Smith College |
| Maureen Hirt | Denison University |
| Laurie Kelly | Gustavus Adolphus College |
| Meredith Mesaris | Vassar College |
| Megan Phelps | Bowdoin College |
