Loyola University New Orleans Women's Basketball

Kennedy becamse the all-time winningest women's basketball coach in Loyola history last season.  During the 2015-16 campaign, Loyola finished the season with a 23-8 overall record and a 14-4 mark in Southern States Athletic Conference action. The Wolf Pack won its second-straight SSAC Tournament title last season and qualifed for the NAIA National Championship.  Coach Kennedys squad won its first ever SSAC Championship Tournament title during the 2014-15 season. The team also began the season 14-0, which marks the best start in program history. Kennedys team finished the 2014-15 season with a 27-4 record overall, advancing to the opening round of the NAIA National Championship. Their 27 wins is the second most in program history and their winning percentage of .871 is the highest in Loyola history. Three players were awarded both SSAC All-Academic and NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athlete honors. Two athletes earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference, while one player secured Second Team recognition. Kennedys team also boasted one WBCA NAIA All-American and an NAIA All-America Second Team selection, in addition to two athletes earning WBCA NAIA All-America honorable mention. In her inaugural year, Kennedy guided the Wolf Pack to a GCAC Regular Season Championship, GCAC Tournament Championship, and a berth to the NAIA National Tournament. Coach Kennedy has won 156 games in her eight years at Loyola. Kennedy joined the Wolf Pack after serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Tulane. During her time at Tulane, the Green Wave saw an impressive eight year run at the NCAA tournament. While at Tulane, Kennedy also won five Conference-USA Championships and coached four WNBA players. She left the Green Wave following the 2005-06 season to enter private business. Kennedy arrived at Tulane in 1996 after one season as an assistant coach at the University of Richmond. From May to July of 1996, she served as interim head coach of the Spiders. Prior to joining the Richmond staff, Kennedy was the head coach at Division III Hollins College in Roanoke, Va. from 1993-95. During her time at Hollins, she served one year on the NCAA South Regional Committee. Kennedy was also the head soccer coach and an assistant professor of physical education at the Virginia school. Kennedy landed at Hollins after three seasons as an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington from 1990-93. While at the school, she worked with all facets of the program, including planning preseason and postseason workouts, scouting and recruiting. She also earned her masters degree in business administration from UNC Wilmington in 1993. A 1990 graduate of the University of North Carolina, Kennedy was a four-year letter winner for the Tar Heels. She earned Most Improved Player honors in 1988 and was the recipient of the 1990 UNC Athletic Directors Scholar-Athlete Award and UNC Womens Basketball Senior Award. Kennedy also earned recognition on the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll in 1989 and 1990, qualifying for inclusion on the Deans List both years. The summer prior to enrolling to UNC, Kennedy was selected to play on an AAU Junior Olympic Development team called the Charlotte Monarchs. The Monarchs won the 18 & Under Junior Olympic National Championship. A native of Concord, N.C., Kennedy was a four-year basketball standout at Concord High. She was twice named MVP of her prep team. During her senior year, Kennedy led the team to the Conference Championship and the State Final Four. That same season, she was named to the Western Region All-Tournament team. She was a three-time All-District selection while in high school. Kennedy is mother to three-year-old Raleigh Kaiis Kennedy. Beck Flanagan enters his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Wolf Pack. Flanagan also serves as the recruiting coordinator for the womens basketball program. After helping the Wolf Pack to their second-straight SSAC Tournament title and a spot in the NAIA National Championship in 2015-16, Flanagan was named the NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Women's Basketball Association. Flanagan helped lead the 2014-15 team to its first ever SSAC Championship Tournament title. The squad began the season 14-0, which marks the best start in Loyola womens basketball history. The 2014-15 team also went 27-4 on the season for the highest winning percentage in program history, and the 27 wins also marks the second most in program history. Flanagan also helped lead the team to the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. Three players were awarded both SSAC All-Academic and NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athlete honors. Two athletes earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference, while one player secured Second Team recognition. The 2014-15 team also boasted one WBCA NAIA All-American and an NAIA All-America Second Team selection, in addition to two WBCA NAIA All-America honorable mention honorees. Flanagan was also a member of the 2013-14 Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Coach of the Year staff. In 2013-14, the Wolf Pack finished first in the West Division of the SSAC and competed in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Pack also advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament for only the second time in school history.  Flanagan is a native of Los Angeles, California. He came to Loyola from Alcorn State where he served as an assistant coach for the mens program. He also served as the womens basketball assistant coach for two years at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. Prior to his collegiate coaching career, Flanagan was a high school coach for seven years. He was the head girls varsity coach of San Pasqual High School for three years, recording three consecutive 20+ win seasons. With an overall record of 65-26 and combined league record of 21-9, he led the team to 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the Avocado League, as well as the San Diego Section California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs, including CIF Division I semi-finalists in 2009 and quarter-finalists in 2010 and 2011. He also worked as a physical education teacher and boys basketball varsity head coach at Delphi Academy in Lake View Terrace, CA for four years. Leading his team to the Southern Section CIF playoffs in four consecutive seasons, he was given the CIF Coach of the Year Award for the 2005-2006 year. Flanagan led his team to three league championships and consecutive winning seasons, with an overall record of 60-35. Beck Flanagan is an alumnus of San Diego State University and graduated with magna cum laude honors. Gabrielle P. Jones-Hayes enters her fifth year as an assistant with the Wolf Pack after working two years as a graduate assistant and video coordinator for Louisiana State University womens basketball program. Under the tutelage of Hall of Fame head coach Van Chancellor and associate head coach Bob Starkey, Hayes served as an asset to the program helping prepare film for scouting purposes as well as helping with basketball instruction during practices. During her time at LSU, the program made an appearance in the NCAA tournament and had two players drafted into the WNBA with others signing contracts to play overseas. A 2008 graduate of Alabama A&M University, Jones-Hayes spent five seasons from 2003 to 2008 as a member of the womens basketball team. During her senior year she served as a team captain. She graduated with a dual degree in English and communications and made the Deans List during every semester of her college career. A native of New Orleans, Jones-Hayes stood out as a point guard for St. Mary's Academy under coach Keith Haywood. She earned a spot on the All-District Team during her junior and senior seasons. On June 4, 2011, Jones-Hayes married Daniel Mark Hayes. She is one of four children in her family.