Heather Ezell
Heather Ezell (born February 15, 1987) is an American basketball coach and former player. She played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones[1] and later professionally for Haukar in Iceland where she won multiple awards and accolades.
Wyoming Cowgirls | |
---|---|
Position | Associate HC |
Personal information | |
Born | February 15, 1987 |
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
Career information | |
High school | Kickapoo (Springfield, Missouri) |
College | Iowa State (2005–2009) |
Playing career | 2009–2010 |
Position | Guard |
Number | 10 |
Coaching career | 2010–present |
Career history | |
As player: | |
2009–2010 | Haukar |
As coach: | |
2010–2011 | Fairfield (assistant) |
2011–2015 | Southeast Missouri State (assistant) |
2015–2019 | Wyoming (assistant) |
2019–present | Wyoming (associate HC) |
Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
|
College career
Ezell played for Iowa State from 2005 to 2009. She finished her career tied for the Cyclones' career record with 287 made three-point field goals and finished 10th in program history with 1,339 points. In her senior season, Ezell earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors. Ezell also earned a spot on the 2008 Big 12 All-Tournament Team and helped the Cyclones to three NCAA appearances including the Elite Eight in 2009.[2]
Professional career
After graduating, Ezell signed with reigning Icelandic champions Haukar prior to the 2009–2010 Úrvalsdeild season.[3][4] In her first game with the team, she posted a quadruple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals in a victory against Njarðvík in the Icelandic Company Cup.[5] In December 2009, she was selected to the Icelandic All-Star game[6] where she was named MVP after posting 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in her team's victory.[7] In January 2010, she was named as one of the five best players of the first half of the season.[8][9] On 9 January 2010, Ezell again achieved a quadruple-double when she posted 25 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists and 10 steals in a victory against Valur.[10][11] Four days later, she scored a season high 40 points while also contributing 10 rebounds and 13 assists in a victory against Njarðvík.[12]
On 17 January, she helped Haukar to the semi-finals of the Icelandic Cup after posting 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a victory against Snæfell.[13] On 31 January, she led Haukar to the Cup finals after posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in a victory against Njarðvík in the semi-finals.[14] In the Cup Finals, Haukar faced Keflavík, led by former University of Iowa rival Kristi Smith[15] In the game, Haukar came out victorious with Ezell posting the first triple-double in the Cup finals history with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists.[16]
In the Úrvalsdeild, Ezell led all players in scoring during the regular season, averaging 29.9 points per game[17] and was named the best player of the second half of the season.[18] On 8 March, she led Haukar to the Úrvalsdeild semi-finals after scoring 19 points in the series clinching game against Grindavík in the first round of the playoffs.[19] In the semi-finals, Haukar where swept by eventual champions KR.[20] After the season, Ezell was named as the Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the Year.[21]
The following season, Ezell retired from playing basketball and went into coaching.[22]
National team career
Ezell played for the United States national team at the 2006 William Jones Cup where she averaged 8.7 points and two assists per game.[2]
References
- Travis J. Cordes (11 December 2008). "Senior guard Heather Ezell becomes 19th Cyclone to reach 1,000 career points". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Heather Ezell - Women's Basketball". cyclones.com. Iowa State. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (7 September 2009). "Ezell til Hauka: Þarf örugglega ekki að læra 200 kerfi eins og hjá Iowa State". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Sigurður Elvar Þórólfsson (17 November 2009). "Miklar breytingar hjá meistaraliði Hauka". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (25 September 2009). "Frábær frumraun". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 46. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Henry Birgir Gunnarsson (14 December 2009). "Vel heppnaður Stjörnuleiksdagur". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 34. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Ezell og Dabney voru best". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 14 December 2009. p. 8. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Þurfum að halda áfram á sömu braut". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 8 January 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Sigurður Elvar Þórólfsson (8 January 2010). "Hef ekki náð að villast". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 4. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Er Heather Ezell að senda valnefndinni skilaboð?". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). 14 January 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Skúli Unnar Sveinsson (11 January 2010). "Sigurganga KR-inga heldur áfram". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Ezell fór á kostum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 14 January 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Þreföld tvenna". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 18 January 2010. p. 8. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Haukar í Höllina í fjórða sinn á sex árum". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 1 February 2010. p. 27. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson (20 February 2010). "Góðar vinkonur utan vallar". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 60. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Heather fyrst til að ná þrennu í bikarúrslitaleik". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 22 February 2010. p. 20. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Birna best en tvíburarnir skora jafn mikið". Víkurfréttir (in Icelandic). 4 March 2010. p. 23.
- Kristján Jónsson (12 March 2010). "Heather Ezell í sérflokki". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 2–3. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Skúli Unnar Sveinsson (9 March 2010). "Haukarnir fóru bakdyramegin í úrslitin". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 4. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Stefán Stefánsson (20 March 2010). "Skotfælni varð Hauku að falli". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 2. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Gullið tímabil hjá bæði Hlyn og Signýju". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 3 May 2010. p. 22. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- Kristján Jónsson (20 November 2010). "Þetta er hörkupúl". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 4. Retrieved 11 October 2020.