Henderson State University Women's Basketball

Jill Thomas enters her 12th season as head coach of the Henderson State women’s basketball program in 2024-25. Thomas has won 167 career games at the helm of HSU women's basketball program and has a career record of 222-185 in 14 seasons as a head coach. In her time at Henderson, Thomas has led the Reddies to the Great American Conference Tournament ten times, the league semifinals four times, coached 16 All-Conference selections and has had 24 players earn Academic All-GAC honors. Thomas has also been dominant against cross-street rival Ouachita Baptist and is 18-6 in her career against the Tigers. In her 11th season, Thomas delivered her best season in Arkadelphia yet, leading the Reddies to the program's first ever GAC Championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006. The championship season yielded a two-year extension on her contract through the 2027 season. The magical 2023-24 campaign saw Thomas become the school's all-time leader in wins with 167 in her career following the program's first 20-win season since 2019-20 and third consecutive 13-win conference season. Under Thomas, Henderson State is the only school in the Great American Conference to have won at least 13 league games in six of the last seven seasons.  In 2022-23, Thomas led Henderson to its sixth consecutive GAC Tournament appearance on the backs of a 14-8 conference record, tying the best finish in league play since 2017-18. During the season, Thomas reached 200 all-time wins as a head coach while being three shy of 150 victories at HSU at the start of the 2023-24 season. During the COVID-19 complicated 2020-21 season and after losing several key starters, Thomas guided a young and inexperienced Reddies team to a 7-6 record and a second-place finish in the GAC Eastern Division. HSU earned a first-round bye at the GAC Tournament, defeated previously unbeaten and No. 14 Arkansas Tech, and ended the season by winning six of its final seven games. The 2019-20 campaign was yet another strong season for Thomas' established program. The Reddies won 20 games, including 14 conference contests, finished 11-2 at home in the Duke Wells Center, and advanced to the GAC Semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Senior Hailey Estes earned All-GAC First Team recognition, while fellow senior Pink Jones garnered Second Team honors. Under Thomas' tutelage, Estes ended her career as HSU's all-time rebounding leader and Jones broke the school's career assist record. In the 2018-19 season, Thomas again guided Henderson to the GAC Tournament with 18 wins and 13 conference victories. Junior Pink Jones earned her second-straight selection to the All-GAC First Team and Hailey Estes was an Honorable Mention All-GAC performer. Thomas led the Reddies to a magnificent season in 2017-18, as Henderson won 21 games, defeated rival Ouachita Baptist three times and advanced to the GAC Tournament semifinals for the first time ever. Pink Jones was named First Team All-GAC, while Haleigh Henson was a Second Team All-GAC selection and also broke the GAC record for 3-pointers made in a career with 282. In 2016-17, the Reddie women's basketball program led the entire Henderson State athletic department with a team GPA of 3.49, and boasted 10 players who had a 3.0 or higher. On the court, freshman Pink Jones led the way for Henderson, earning honorable mention All-GAC honors, as well as GAC Freshman of the Year recognition. During the 2015-16 season, Henderson finished with a 14-15 record overall and a 13-9 mark in GAC play, the first winning record in league play since the Reddies joined the league. The Reddies recorded its first win over Harding in Searcy since 2006 with a 66-62 upset of the Bisons. Henderson would go on to sweep the series against Harding. The Reddies also swept the series with in-town rival Ouachita Baptist. The 2014-15 Reddies finished with a 10-17 record overall and an 8-12 record in Great American Conference play, good enough for a seventh-place finish in the league standings. During the course of the year, the Reddies recorded a 91-85 win over GAC Champion Harding ending the Bisons 11-game win streak as well as a pair of wins over Ouachita Baptist. Thomas coached two-time Great American Conference Defender of the Year Aungelique Sledge who was also an All-Region pick. Sledge also earned First-Team Academic All-American honors. In her first season with the Lady Reddies, Thomas led Henderson State to a 13-14 record. The Lady Reddies had a 9-4 record at home, including winning eight straight home games to begin the season. Prior to her arrival to Henderson, Thomas spent four seasons as head coach at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, Thomas was named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year after guiding the Lady Falcons to a 27-5 record and their first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament win. During her four years at the Misenheimer, N.C. institution, Thomas compiled a 65-48 record with nine of her players earning all-conference honors, and seven conference players-of-the-week selections. “The three things that I stress is work ethic, character, and team accountability,” Thomas said. “Our student-athletes must lead by example and be good representatives of Henderson State University. I feel that it also very important for us to be visible throughout the community.” Thomas’ teams have not only performed on the court, but in the classroom as well. More than a dozen of her players have been on the Pfeiffer’s Presidential Honor Roll, seven players earned all-academic all-conference honors, and one of her players was named Capital One Academic All-American in back-to-back years. Prior to her stint at Pfeiffer, Thomas was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Dakota Wesleyan University where she also worked as a Resident Director and Intramural Coordinator. Thomas also spent a season as an assistant coach at Mitchell High School in Mitchell, S.D. In addition to valuable coaching experience, Thomas played on the NJCAA Division I and NAIA Division II levels. While at Northwest College she set the school record for most points in one game. While serving as team captain at Black Hills State University, Thomas was selected as a Dakota Athletic Conference Player of the Week and earned a DAC All-Conference award. Thomas is a 2004 graduate of Northwest College having obtained an associate degree with honors in physical education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Wellness Management with a minor in coaching in 2006 from Black Hills State University. Thomas acquired a master’s degree in education from Dakota Wesleyan University in 2012 with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction. CAREER RECORD AT HENDERSON STATE   YEARS WINS LOSSES 2013-14 13 14 2014-15 10 17 2015-16 14 15 2016-17 8 20 2017-18 21 9 2018-19 18 11 2019-20 20 10 2020-21 7 6 2021-22 19 11 2022-23 17 12 2023-24 20 12 TOTALS 167 137  CAREER CONFERENCE RECORD   YEARS WINS LOSSES CONFERENCE 2013-14 8 12 Great American 2014-15 8 12 Great American 2015-16 13 9 Great American 2016-17 8 14 Great American 2017-18 16 6 Great American 2018-19 13 9 Great American 2019-20 14 8 Great American 2020-21 7 5 Great American 2021-22 13 9 Great American 2022-23 14 8 Great American 2023-24 13 9 Great American TOTALS 127 101  

Lux begins his first season at Henderson State in 2025-26, serving as the women's basketball graduate assistant. Lux comes to Henderson after serving as the student manager of South Dakota State's women's basketball team that were WNIT Champions in 2022 and Summit League regular and postseason champions from 2023-25. While at SDSU, Lux aided the basketball staff in day to day operations and on the court, serving as a scout player during practices, along with aiding the coaches in scheduling and documentation. In 2024, Lux served as the Assistant Director of the SDSU Women's Basketball camps, and served as one of the student managers at the NCAA Basketball Academy and USA Open Championships that July. Outside of the college ranks, Lux aided the USA Women's Basketball U-19 team at their trials this past June. A Sleepy Eye, Minnesota native, Lux earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, Teacher Education; and Minors in Health Education and Recreation Administration from South Dakota State University in 2025.

Harvey begins her fourth season at Henderson State in 2024-25, serving as the associate women's basketball coach. During the 2023-24 season, she served as a critical part of an HSU coaching staff that guided the Reddies to their first Great American Conference title. In 2022-23, Harvey helped lead HSU to a 17-12 overall record and a 14-8 league standing - tied for its best GAC record since the 2017-18 season - that saw the red-and-gray make it to the conference tournament for the sixth year in a row.  In Harvey's first season at HSU in the 2021-22 season, the Reddies boasted the third-ranked scoring offense in the GAC and held the best 3-point field goal percentage of anyone in the league at 37 percent. Henderson's prolific offense led them to the GAC Tournament Semifinals for the second time in three years. This is the second time Harvey has joined forces with head coach Jill Thomas and the first as a fellow coach. The first time came while Harvey played for Thomas at Pfeiffer University from 2009-2013. Harvey was a standout under Thomas for the Falcons as she finished her career seventh all-time in program history with 1200 career points. As a senior, Harvey averaged 16.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, leading PU to the Conference Carolinas championship game and the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Harvey joins the HSU coaching ranks after serving as the head assistant at Young Harris College for two seasons where, in her first year, they made the Peach Belt Conference Tournament for the first time in school history and the first winning record since 2013-14. Prior to that, Harvey spent two years at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania as an assistant coach. During her time with the Golden Knights, Harvey was recognized by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association as one of their Thirty Under 30 honorees for the 2018-19 season. The WBCA Thirty Under 30 program was created to recognize 30 up-and-coming women's basketball coaches age 30 and under at all levels of the game. Harvey graduated from Pfeiffer with a bachelors degree in exercise science with a sports medicine concentration and minor in athletic coaching in 2013. She later received a masters degree in exercise science and health promotion from California University of Pennsylvania in 2014.