Otiona Gildon named McNeese women’s basketball assistant

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese head women’s basketball coach Lynn Kennedy has announced the hiring of Otiona Gildon as assistant coach.

Gildon comes to the Cowgirl program following one season (2022-23) as assistant coach at Seattle University.

Prior to joining the Seattle staff, Gildon returned to the Oregon women’s basketball program in the summer of 2020, rejoining her alma mater as Director of Creativity/Student Athlete Support. Gildon’s role included video coordination as well as camp staging and promotion, among other duties.

The native of Spokane, Wash., enjoyed an illustrious playing career at Oregon, appearing in 143 games for the Ducks, the third-most in program history. A member of two PAC-12 regular season title teams (2018, 2019), Gildon finished with 583 career points and 414 rebounds.

Gildon is a two-time USA Basketball 3×3 national champion (2018, 2019), representing the USA at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup during the summer of 2018 in the Phillipines.

Gildon played professionally for Lombos Quina in Portugal, averaging a double-double with 16.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. She was named the 2020 Portugal Eurobasketball Forward of the Year and a Eurobasketball All-Portuguese First Team Selection.

AS A PROFESSIONAL
Played professionally for Lombos Quina in Portugal after graduating from Oregon in 2019 … The team’s top performer through 20 games during the 2019-20 season, averaging a double-double with 16.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54.1 percent from the field … Named the 2020 Portugal Eurobasket Forward of the Year and a Eurobasket All-Portuguese first-team selection.

CAREER
Appeared in 143 games as a Duck, the third-most in program history … Finished career with 583 career points and 414 rebounds … Helped Oregon to back-to-back Pac-12 regular-season titles in 2018 and 2019 as well as the Pac-12 Tournament championship as a junior … Tied for the program record with 13 NCAA Tournament games played, helping the Ducks reach the Elite Eight in 2017 and 2018 before advancing to the program’s first-ever Final Four in 2019 … Ranks second in Oregon history with a .596 career field-goal percentage during NCAA Tournament play.

Returned to the Oregon women’s basketball team in the summer of 2020, rejoining her alma mater as Interim Director of Creativity/Student Athlete Support. Gildon’s role includes video coordination as well as camp staging and promotion, among other duties.