Jon Newlee
Head Coach

Jon Newlee was hired as the ninth head coach in University of Idaho women's basketball history on April 15, 2008. In his four years at Idaho Newlee has won 31 Western Athletic Conference games, three WAC tournament games and WAC Coach of the Year honors while leading the program to its first postseason appearance in 25 years.

The 2012-13 season will mark Newlee's fifth at Idaho, 29th as a collegiate coach and 14th as a head coach. Newlee has a 179-184 (.493) record in 13 seasons as a head coach, and a 51-71 (.418) record at Idaho and a 31-31 (.500) record in WAC play.

Despite the loss of four starters from the previous year heading into the 2011-12 season, Newlee groomed a group of young talented players into winners by the end of the season. The Vandals, picked to finish seventh out of eight WAC schools, rallied to win six of their final nine regular season games to earn a fourth-place conference finish. Idaho then beat San Jose State in the WAC quarterfinals to advance to the WAC semifinals for the second time in three seasons.

Newlee took the Vandals to a new level in 2010-11 as Idaho earned the program's first postseason bid in 25 years with a trip to the Women's Basketball Invitational. Idaho's 15-16 overall record marked the program's most wins in a season since 2004-05. He also led the Vandals to the program's 500th win during that season.

Newlee coached 2010-11 honorable mention All-American Yinka Olorunnife, who broke a host of rebounding records including the Idaho and WAC career records, the Idaho single-season record and the career record for rebounds in WAC games. In addition to her All-American honor, Olorunnife picked up WAC Player of the Week, second-team All-WAC, WAC All-Tournament team and WAC all-defensive team honors.

In 2009-10 Newlee led the Vandals to a milestone victory when Idaho topped New Mexico State in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament. It was the first trip to the WAC semifinals in program history, as the Vandals finished the season one win away from playing for the WAC championship. Newlee led the Vandals to an 11-20 overall record, capped by an 8-8 record in WAC play and the No. 4 seed in the WAC tournament. The 2009-10 Vandals set a school record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 216, smashing the previous record of 203 set by the 2004-05 squad.

In just his first season at Idaho in 2008-09, Newlee led the Vandal women to their best season in WAC play, as the team went 13-15 overall and 10-6 in the WAC on his way to being named the WAC Coach of the Year. In Idaho's three years of WAC play prior to Newlee's arrival, the Vandals had a combined record of 11-37 and had never finished higher than seventh in the league standings. In 2009, Idaho went 10-6, swept eventual champion Fresno State during the regular season, earned the program's first win over Hawai'i, won back-to-back conference road games for the first time since joining the WAC, swept four WAC opponents and tied for third place in the conference. It was the third Coach of the Year honor of Newlee's career, as he also earned Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2006 and co-Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2004.

Idaho's turnaround was significant on the national level as well. In 2009, the Vandals' final RPI ranking jumped 96 spots in the final ratings over the previous season, which tied as the 19th-largest RPI jump among NCAA teams. Idaho's 9.5-game improvement was the seventh best in the NCAA in 2009.

What was even more impressive about Newlee's first-year success was the he did it with a rotation of just six players, and with a team that only had one true post player. Despite the slim roster, there were still plenty of honors to go around. Yinka Olorunnife earned Second-Team All-WAC and WAC All-Defensive Team mention, Derisa Taleni earned WAC Newcomer of the Year and Second-Team All-WAC honors and Shaena-Lyn Kuehu was voted to the WAC All-Freshman Team. Newlee's team was one of the most disciplined in the NCAA, as the Vandals led the WAC and ranked 15th in the NCAA with just 14.1 personal fouls per game, and ranked 90th out of 328 schools in turnovers per game. The Vandals also played a feisty brand of defense and came within 0.8 of breaking Idaho's 19-year-old scoring defense record with a 59.5 defensive scoring average.

At Idaho State:

Newlee's six-year tenure at Idaho State was marked with success, then more success. Prior to his arrival, Idaho State never had been invited to the Women's NIT. He took the Bengals there three times in six seasons. He also became the second coach in Idaho State history to earn a Big Sky Coach of the Year award and he is the only one to win it multiple times. He recruited and coached All-Americans, All-Big Sky performers and school and conference record-holders. Newlee produced two of the three 20-win seasons in Idaho State history and four of the team's five total post-season berths.

In just his second season at Idaho State in 2004, Newlee led the Bengals to a 20-9 record—a 14-win improvement over his first season—and a second-place finish in the Big Sky. After ISU lost to Montana in the Big Sky title game, the team earned an invitation to compete in the Women’s NIT for the first time in school history. After getting one taste of the postseason, the Bengals wanted even more. They got it in 2006. Newlee’s ISU squad went 17-13 overall and 11-3 in the Big Sky in 2006 to earn the Big Sky regular-season title and a second trip to the WNIT.

Newlee’s 2007 Bengals took it a step further. After going 17-14 during the season and 11-5 in the Big Sky, the Bengals took out Northern Arizona by an 84-78 margin to give Idaho State just its second conference tournament title and second NCAA bid. The Bengals faced No. 2 seed Stanford in the first round and fell, 96-58. In Newlee’s final season at the helm, the Bengals cruised to a 20-10 overall record, an 11-2 Big Sky record and a third WNIT berth—the team’s fourth post-season bid in five seasons.

Newlee is regarded highly a recruiter. While at Idaho State, he produced some of the best players the Big Sky ever saw. He coached Natalie Doma, a two-time honorable mention Associated Press All-American and 2008 Wooden Award and State Farm Wade Trophy finalist. She is the only player in Big Sky Conference history to be a finalist for the Wooden Award. Doma twice ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA in both scoring and rebounding in 2007 and 2008 and finished her career as the top scorer and rebounder in Idaho State and Big Sky Conference history.

Numerous players earned individual accolades during Newlee’s six-year tenure. Doma and Andrea Lightfoot earned three all-Big Sky first team honors each, which made them just two of three Bengals to achieve the feat in school history. Doma was also a two-time Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, while Lightfoot earned the honor once. He also coached one Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and 11 total all-Big Sky honorees. His athletes also earned 28 Academic All-Big Sky honors in his six seasons.

Previous Schools:
Before his time as head coach at Idaho State, Newlee spent 12 seasons as an assistant at the NCAA Division I level. His first stop was Texas-San Antonio, where, in 1991, he helped the Roadrunners to an 18-12 record. His next stop would be Southern Methodist, where he spent eight seasons and helped the Mustangs make five NCAA tournament appearances and one WNIT appearance. During his time at SMU, the Mustangs were 155-82 overall, compiled four 20-win seasons and finished in the top three in their respective conferences six times.

Following his time at SMU, he moved on to Hawai’i for three seasons (2000-02). He helped the Rainbow Wahine earn three successive WNIT berths and helped lead them to three successive 20-win seasons. Hawai’i was 69-25 overall in his three seasons and went a combined 37-11 in the Western Athletic Conference and never finished worse than second in the WAC.

In his first head-coaching stint, he took Southwestern College from a 2-14 record to a 22-6 record and an NJCAA Regional Tournament appearance in just three seasons (1987-89). He got his first coaching job at Saint Mary’s (CA), where he was an assistant from 1984-86. That team went a combined 64-25 and made one trip to the NAIA District III playoffs in 1986.

Personal:
Newlee earned his bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from San Diego State in 1982. He has one daughter, Bailey.

Christa Sanford
Assistant Coach

The 2012-13 season is Christa Sanford's fifth at Idaho and seventh overall as a college coach. Sanford followed head coach Jon Newlee to Idaho in 2008 after a five-year stay at Idaho State. Sanford was an assistant for the Bengals from 2006-08, a graduate assistant from 2005-06 and a player from 2003-05.

Sanford focuses on coaching the guards, with other duties including overseeing team academics, recruiting, community service, equipment, and summer camps.

Sanford was a two-year starter for ISU at guard. She helped the Bengals earn the team's first Women's National Invitational Tournament bid in 2004 and led the team to back-to-back Big Sky Tournament semifinal appearances. She earned a pair of Big Sky All-Academic awards during her career as well. She ranks fifth all-time at ISU in 3-pointers made (84) and in 3-point field goal percentage (36.5). She also played at Hawai'i for two seasons.

Sanford already had a history on the Palouse before she arrived as a coach. She put together an impressive prep career at Pullman High, where she was a Washington 2A Player of the Year and a USA Today High School All-American basketball player for the Greyhounds.

Sanford graduated from Idaho State in 2004 with a degree in communications. She earned her master's degree in 2006 in physical education with an emphasis in athletic administration. Formerly Christa Brossman, she and her husband Tom Sanford were married in May 2008. The couple have a daughter Adelynn Madora, born in February, 2011, and a son Jack, born in July, 2012.

Jordan Green
Assistant Coach

Jordan Green will begin his second season on the Idaho coaching staff in the 2012-13 season.

Green coordinates recruiting and team travel, handles scouting responsibilities, and works with Idaho's post players.

Formerly an assistant coach at Idaho State, Green worked under Newlee from 2004-08. In his time at Idaho State, Green helped the Bengals to two Big Sky championships, one NCAA tournament appearance, and two appearances in the WNIT.

Green was in charge of guard and wing player development at Idaho State, and also scouted opponents, coordinated travel and assisted with recruiting.

Prior to his time at Idaho State, Green was an assistant coach for the men's basketball program at Seattle University in 2003-04.

Green played basketball collegiately at George Fox University, where he was a three-time team captain and an NAIA All-America Honorable Mention. He earned his bachelor of science in education from George Fox in 2001, and received his master's in athletic administration and physical education from Idaho State in 2005.

Kristi Zeller
Assistant Coach

Zeller enters her second season at Idaho, after coming from the University of Toledo where she was a four-year letter winner on the women's basketball team from 2004-2008. After playing at Toledo, Zeller spent one year as a student assistant for the Rockets and two as a graduate assistant.

Zeller's duties at Idaho include overseeing film exchange, assisting with recruiting, coordinating community service and assisting with summer camps. She also performed similar duties in her three years on the staff at Toledo.

Zeller earned her master's degree in May, 2011 in liberal studies, and holds her bachelor's degree in social work. As a player for the Rockets, Zeller was a two-time Academic All-MAC selection and was selected as the team's Top Scholar Athlete.