Carthage College Women's Basketball

Jones has been at the helm of the women's basketball program at Carthage since 2023 after being the head coach at Monmouth College since 2021. In Jone's second year at Carthage, the team went 17-9, 9-7 in conference play and gave No. 2 ranked Illinois Wesleyan their only loss of the season. Carthage's first win over the Titans in a decade and the program's first win over a ranked opponent since 2021. The season marked the most wins for the program since the 2018-19. During her tenure at Monmouth, the Scots finished sixth during the 2022-23 season and second during her inaugural season. While at Monmouth, Jones coached the 2021-22 Midwest Conference Player of the Year, had one D3Hoops.com Second Team All-Region selection, and three All-Conference honors.  In addition, Jones had six student-athletes named to the MWC All-Academic team and one College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Honor.  Before joining the Scots, Jones was an assistant women's basketball coach at Luther College from 2018-21. During her time there, the team finished third in 2019-20 and fourth in 2018-19. Jones coached the three-time A-R-C Defensive Player of the Year and coached six student-athletes who collected eight All-Conference honors. 10 student-athletes earned 15 A-R-C All-Academic team honors and coached two 1,000-point scores and the all-time career assists record holder.  Jones played basketball at Loras College, graduating in 2016. During her four years with the Duhawks, the program won 71 games, won a conference title, and made the NCAA Division III National Tournament twice. A graduate of Ridgeview High School, Jones played on the team that finished third at state in 2008-09 and 2010-11. In 2012, Jones was an Illinois High School Heisman Top-12 finalist and IBCA 1A All-State and AP All-State selection. During that year, Jones was named the State Farm Female Athlete of the Year.    Jones earned a master's degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in sports psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Madisen Nitsch (formerly Madisen Kaelber) was named assistant coach for the Carthage women’s basketball program in 2022. A 2020 graduate of Carthage with a Bachelor's degree in History and Secondary Education, Nitsch was a standout guard for the Firebirds from 2016–2020, starting 82 games over her career. She scored 1,075 career points (20th in program history), made 162 career three-pointers (6th all-time), and shot 84.2% from the free throw line, the second-best career mark in program history. Nitsch also ranks among the program’s single-season leaders with 51 three-pointers (2018) and an impressive .889 free throw percentage (2018).  Nitsch earned CCIW Newcomer of the Year honors in 2017, was a two-time All-CCIW selection (2017, 2019), and delivered several standout performances, including a career high 33 points against the University of Chicago (Nov. 26, 2017) and 32 points against Augustana (Dec. 9, 2017).  Nitsch was a standout at Kenosha Indian Trail High School. In both 2015 and 2016, she was named the conference Girls Player of the Year. She led the league with impressive averages of 25.5 points and 5.5 assists per game, showcasing her scoring prowess and playmaking ability. Throughout her high school career, Madie consistently dominated on  the court, becoming the all-time leading scorer in Kenosha County girls’ basketball history in 2016.  Following her playing career, Nitsch served as the Director of Customer Relations and Director of Girls Basketball at ALL IN Athletics, and worked as a second-grade educational assistant at The Prairie School. She is currently the Director of Operations at The Farm System, a community-based sports organization dedicated to helping athletes grow into their full potential both on and off the playing field.