New Portland State women's basketball Head Coach Lynn Kennedy has announced the hiring of three assistant coaches. Alison Hewa, Chelsey Zimmerman, and Amy Denson will all join Kennedy on the Park Blocks next season.
 
Hewa comes to Portland State after serving as the head coach at Pullman High School for the 2014-15 season. She was named the Great Northern League Coach of the Year after leading the Greyhounds to the league title and the Washington 2A Sweet 16. She managed the three-team program and coached second team all-league player Savannah Paul as well as the league's MVP, Emily Drake.
 
Prior to taking over in Pullman, Hewa was the assistant coach at Eastern Washington for five seasons from 2008-2013. During her tenure, the Eagles made two WNIT berths and won the league championship in 2010. She coached conference MVPs Breanne Ryan and Julie Piper. Eastern Washington finished in the top four in the Big Sky in four straight seasons.
 
In the year before Hewa return to campus as a coach, the Eagles went 4-25 overall and 1-15 in Big Sky Conference action. In her first season, the Eagles nearly tripled their wins from four to 10 in 2008-09. And then in 2009-10, Hewa's second year in the program, the Eagles celebrated the most successful season in nearly two decades, as the team captured the school's first-ever Big Sky Conference regular-season title going 12-4 in league play, 19-12 overall.
 
Hewa also served as an assistant coach at the University of Idaho from 2006-08 and at Northern Idaho Junior College from 2004-06. She will serve as the Vikings' recruiting coordinator and work with the team's post players.
 
Zimmerman joins the Vikings after serving three seasons as an assistant coach under Kennedy at Southern Oregon University. While at SOU, Zimmerman served as the travel coordinator and was responsible for student-athlete academic standards, monitoring and retention.
 
During her time at in Ashland, the Raiders posted their best record in 16 years going 27-5 in 2014-15 and were ranked as high as No. 13 in the country. She helped Southern Oregon to two NAIA National Tournament appearances in 2009 and 2015 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2015.
 
Zimmerman also spent four years as an assistant coach at the University of Great Falls. She coached a pair of future NAIA All-Americans while in Great Falls. The team was the top-ranked academic team among NAIA women's basketball teams, with a 3.65 GPA.
 
Zimmerman will work with the team's guards as well as serve as the team's travel coordinator. She will also assist with academics and scouting.
 
Denson brings extensive professional playing experience to the Park Blocks. She played professional basketball internationally for six different teams, in five different countries (Puerto Rico, Spain, Australia, Romania, and Poland) from 2006-2014.
 
Denson was twice selected as an all-star while playing in Australia and was a three-time league MVP in Puerto Rico. Denson played collegiately at Arizona State where she was a four-year starter. She was named to the Pacific-10 Conference All-Freshman first team in 2003 and was a Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention in 2004.
 
Denson will serve as the team's camp and social media director. She will work with the team's post players and work on scouting reports.