Holli Howard-Carpenter is in her ninth season leading the Western Oregon women's basketball program. She previously spent three seasons serving as the associate head coach at Cal State East Bay.
WOU wasn't able to compete during the 2020-21 season due to COVID restrictions.
The Wolves capped the 2019-20 season strong with a dominating win over Alaska Fairbanks. WOU had an impressive home win to start the new year against Western Washington, as the Wolves went double-overtime before taking the victory. Although the team finished with six wins on the season, the team was competitive in several games throughout the year, with four games decided by four points or less and the team also played two other overtime games. Early on in the season, WOU captured a pair of solid regional wins over Cal State East Bay and Sonoma State. Keyonna Jones and Shariah Green powered the offense with each averaging in double-figures in scoring, while Tresai McCarver led the team in assists and was third in scoring.
It was an eight-win campaign during the 2018-19 season, with the Wolves putting a stretch together in which they won four of five games. Some of those wins included Colorado Mesa and Saint Martin's. Natalie DeLonge paced the Wolves averaging over 15 points per game, while Jones added just over 10 points a night.
Under the guidance of Howard-Carpenter, Western Oregon University's women's basketball team was recognized by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on the 2016-17 Academic Top-25 Team Honor Roll. The honor was the second straight for the women's program. The Wolves posted a team grade-point average of 3.539, which ranked 21st in NCAA Division II and topped all Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's hoops teams. Her teams have been best in the conference three consecutive years in GPA.
Howard-Carpenter joined WOU from Cal State East Bay where she helped lead a turnaround of the Pioneers’ women's basketball program. Cal State East Bay finished its 2012-13 season with an overall mark of 16-11, the best record for the program since the 2005-06 season. The Pioneers finished the season ranked third in the nation in scoring defense (51.1 points per game) and seventh in the country in field-goal percentage defense (33.9).
During the 2011-12 season, Howard-Carpenter helped guide the Pioneers to their first-ever CCAA postseason appearance as Cal State East Bay finished the season with 12 victories. The wins were the most for the program since the 2007-08 season as the Pioneers tripled their win total from the previous year.
Throughout her career at Cal State East Bay, the Pioneers have also had tremendous success in the classroom. Following the 2011-12 season, Cal State East Bay earned the No. 24 spot on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Academic Team Honor Roll. As a team, the Pioneers compiled a 3.43 team GPA and were the only CCAA squad to earn a spot in the Academic Team Honor Roll. Since Howard-Carpenter joined the Pioneers, the program has had nine student-athletes selected to the CCAA All-Academic squad.
Prior to her arrival at Cal State East Bay, Howard-Carpenter spent four seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at Chico State. During her tenure at Chico State, Howard-Carpenter helped guide the Wildcats to four CCAA Tournament appearances and three NCAA Women's Basketball Championship berths, including two trips to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16. In her second season on the sideline, Chico State captured the CCAA Tournament and regular season titles, During her three seasons, the Wildcats posted a 91-34 overall record and a 62-22 mark in conference play under her watch.
Prior to her arrival at Chico State, Howard-Carpenter spent four years teaching and coaching high school basketball at Orland High School (2002-04) and Willows High School (2004-06). She also has extensive experience as a coach and counselor at girls' basketball camps.
An Academic All-American at Cal State East Bay, Howard-Carpenter served as team captain, earned California Pacific Conference Honorable Mention honors and was voted as the team's Most Inspirational Player. She also served as a resident assistant in student housing as a senior at East Bay.
Howard-Carpenter also played two seasons of softball for the Pioneers and two seasons at the College of the Siskiyous, where she earned First-Team All-Conference honors as a team captain. The standout athlete also played three seasons with the Redding Rage of the Independent Women's Football League, earning two Most Valuable Player awards and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Howard-Carpenter is a 2012 graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy and a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Alliance of Women Coaches. Since 2017, she has served as the GNAC’s WBCA captain.
A 2002 graduate of Cal State Hayward, Howard-Carpenter earned her bachelor's degree in history before going on to complete her master's in kinesiology at Chico State in 2008.Â
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In 2013, she became the youngest member to be inducted into the Weed High School Hall of Fame.
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