William Peace has announced the hiring of Marquetta Dickens as its new head women's basketball coach. Dickens comes to the Pacers after serving three years as the head women's basketball coach and assistant athletic director at St. Elizabeth.
She replaces Grahm Smith, who left after this past season to take over as head coach at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. He was 39-16 in his two seasons with the Pacers. The Pacers finished 23-5 overall and as the regular season USA South Athletic Conference champions, a first in program history. The Pacers also received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, a first in program and school history.
"I am truly excited to announce Marquetta Dickens as the head coach of the women's basketball program and to welcome her back home to Raleigh, where she began her journey into college athletics," said Tom Curle, athletic director. "Our applicant pool was extremely competitive and Marquetta rose to the top in all areas that are important to us. Coach Dickens has successful head coaching experience, recruiting ties to the region, and most importantly she will be a positive role model and educator for the young women on our basketball team and across campus."
Prior to her stint at CSE, Dickens served as an assistant coach at Division I Monmouth (N.J.) before taking the role of head women's basketball coach at the Community College of Philadelphia.
Dickens graduated from N.C. State in 2007, where she started all four years on the women's basketball team. During her senior year, she helped the Wolfpack get to the Sweet 16 as she scored 989 points throughout her four years. Dickens received several WNBA tryouts after her graduation and went on to play professionally in Poland and Portugal. Dickens graduated from N.C. State with a degree in sports management and a minor in business while later earning a masters in student affairs and school counseling at Monmouth.
During her three seasons at St. Elizabeth, Dickens accumulated an overall record of 41-31, with each year showing improvement as she coached the team to a 19-7 record in the 2019-2020 season, advancing to the CSAC finals.
Dickens had this to say about her new position with the Pacers: "I'd like to thank Mr. Curle and the entire hiring committee for selecting me to continue the legacy that has begun here at Peace. I am looking forward to building upon the historic success this program had last season. I'm looking forward to our team playing some exciting basketball in front of one of the best basketball communities in the country. It has been a long awaited journey back to Raleigh, North Carolina, and I couldn't have come at a better time! I believe in Peace as an institution and that makes my job as a coach 10 times easier! We celebrate the history of the program and institution as a whole, and I'm excited to be a part of its future!"