Women's basketball hires new head coach

By Cecile Nguyen

The Santa Clara Athletic Department announced the hiring of former Gonzaga assistant coach, Jennifer Mountain, to replace Michelle Bento-Jackson as the head coach of the Bronco women's basketball team.

Bento-Jackson spent six seasons with Santa Clara, and her contract, which expires this June, was not renewed.

According to Athletic Director Dan Coonan, 90 applicants applied for the head coach position.

"It was a great experience going through the (interviewing) process," Mountain said. "I'm very fortunate to be here."

Mountain will be joining Santa Clara after spending seven seasons at Gonzaga as the top assistant coach for their women's basketball team.

"It never hurts when you're looking for a coach to pull one off the bench of one of your top rivals," Coonan joked.

Mountain was an integral part of the Bulldogs' four West Coast Conference championships after they finished a dismal 2-12 in conference play during the 2001-2002 season.

"I have high expectations for the players and the program," Mountain said. "I hope to bring back some championships to this school soon."

Mountain and the Bulldogs won the WCC tournament title last season but lost to San Diego in the 2007-2008 WCC championship game.

"She can flat-out coach. She can bring us to where we want to be," Coonan said. "We have no problem giving an assistant coach a chance."

Mountain said that many schools are often hesitant to hire assistant coaches for head coaching positions, and thanked Santa Clara for the opportunity.

The Portland, Ore., native first joined Gonzaga's women's coaching staff in 1991 under Julie Holt. Mountain helped lead the Bulldogs to their first-ever Women's National Invitational Tournament appearance in 1994.

She left the following season to coach the boys' basketball team at Saint George's School in Spokane. Mountain guided the Dragons to two Washington State Class B championship game appearances and compiled a 134-62 record in seven years.

Mountain left the school and began her second stint with the Bulldogs shortly after.

An alumna of Gonzaga, Mountain is the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,422 points, and is ranked in the top 10 in many Bulldog school records, including career field goals made, three-point field goals made, free-throws made, assists and steals.

Under Bento-Jackson, Santa Clara was consistently one of the top schools in the nation in both attempted and made three-point field goals.

It's all about "fit," Mountain said about choosing Santa Clara. "From the moment I stepped on campus, I felt like I belonged here. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did."

Mountain said she will put her coaching staff together soon and will be out recruiting as soon as this weekend.

Contact Cecile Nguyen at (408) 551-1918 or cnguyen5@scu.edu.