Trevecca Nazarene University

NASHVILLE—Karen Booker completed her third season as the head coach of the Trojan program. She is the sixth coach in the history of Trevecca's women's basketball program. Booker, a veteran coach and basketball official, played at Vanderbilt. The All-American is in the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame. Following her collegiate career, Booker played in the WNBA.

Her first season on the Hill, 2022-23, was one for the record books. The remarkable season is the best during Trevecca's NCAA Division II era. The team finished 22-10 and went 15-5 in the Great Midwest, finishing third overall.

In a season of remarkable firsts and records, one of the most impressive facets is the fact that Booker added two freshmen and a reserve to a roster that had won just five games the season before but led them to 22 wins, the Trojans' most wins in their 11-year tenure at the NCAA level.

They went undefeated at home for the first time, going 14-0.

Trevecca made the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed and advanced to the Great Midwest Finals.

Then the Trojans qualified for their first NCAA Division II Championships appearance.

The Trojans were selected as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Regional. The fifth-seeded Trojans won their opening game over fourth-seeded Michigan Tech, advancing to the final 32 teams. However, the Trojans lost to Ashland, the region host and eventual national champions.

This is for a team picked 12th in the Great Midwest preseason coaches' poll.

Booker was rewarded by being selected as the 2023 Tennessee Sports Writer's Association Pat Summit Coach of the Year. This award is given to the best coach across all divisions of college basketball in Tennessee.

Keeley Carter led the team, scoring 17.9 points per game and averaging 6.0 rebounds per game. She scored 573 points, a school record. Emma Palmer averaged 12 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Lili Wilken averaged 10 points per game.

Keeley Carter became the NCAA Era career scoring leader at Trevecca.

Keeley Carter earned the G-MAC Athlete of the Week once and made first-team All-Conference and Great Midwest All-Tournament. Emma Palmer was named second-team All-Conference and Great Midwest All-Tournament and also made the Great Midwest Athlete of the Week.

The 2023-24 Trojans season started with a bang with exhibition wins over Fisk on Homecoming and NCAA Div. I Austin Peay State University. The 75-59 dismantling of the Governor's is significant not only for the 16-point margin of victory but also in the debut of APSU's new F&M Bank Arena in downtown Clarksville. From there, the Trojans went 4-3 in the non-conference, only falling to nationally ranked teams during that stretch.

For the season, the Trojans finished 19-12 overall and 13-7 in conference play. Trevecca earned the sixth seed in the Great Midwest tournament after enjoying an eight-game winning streak that lasted nearly a month towards the end of the regular season.

In the Great Midwest tournament, the Trojans knocked off third-seeded Northwood before making a run at the conference title for the second year in a row.

After advancing to the NCAA Midwest Regionals for the second consecutive year, the Trojans, as the region's eighth seed, also gave the top-seeded Grand Valley State a scare. Despite falling to GVSU, the Trojans held a one-point lead at halftime before their season ended.

The 2023-24 season marked the end of Trojan great Keeley Carter's career. Carter was named to the Great Midwest All-Conference tournament team and to the league's first team. She ended her career as the NCAA Div. II career leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. She has the most assists in the NCAA era and ranks in the top five in both steals (4th) and blocks (5th).

The 2024-25 season saw a significant change in the roster for the first time in the Booker era. Seven players returned from the previous season's roster but combined for just 11 starts. Eight of those from Jayda Woods, who saw her season end due to an injury after nine games. Only one of the other six, Amaya Thomas, averaged more than 11 minutes per game.

Despite the new-look roster, early wins at Kentucky State University and at home over Thomas More University brought promise for a third consecutive strong season. Then the Trojans picked up back-to-back wins over Lane and West Florida and looked to be on their way. The Trojans bounced back after a few tough losses with a pair of conference wins. But the team found navigating the Gulf South schedule tough sledding down the stretch, dropping ten of the next 11. The lone win in the stretch might have been the best of the year, a 54-47 win over West Florida at the Trojan Fieldhouse.

Tatum Shaw, who returned after missing more than a year with an injury, led the team in scoring (10.7), three-pointers (57), and steals (27). Amaya Thomas followed up her promising freshman effort to averaging 10.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Newcomer Cheyenne Trotter led the team with 8.5 rebounds and chipped in 9.6 points per game. Monique Emelifeonwu led the team with 54 blocks.

KAREN BOOKER HEAD COACH CAREER

THE BOOKER FILE

Karen Booker grew up in Williamson County, Tennessee becoming a star student, athlete, and basketball player at Franklin High School. Booker was all-state in basketball as a senior at Franklin (TN) High School in 1983. She is in the Franklin High School Hall of Fame and her jersey is hanging in the gym.

BOOKER WITH THE DORES

Booker was first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American at Vanderbilt University as a senior in 1987.

She had a career average of 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game at Vanderbilt. She scored 1,522 career points, grabbed 1,096 rebounds, had 293 steals, made 334 free throws, and blocked 127 shots. She is still first in rebounds in a season with 389 in 1987 and second in steals for a season with 112 that same year. Her 338 rebounds in 1986 are fourth on the all-time season list. On the career list, she is second in career rebounds and steals. She is ranked in the top 10 in numerous season and career categories.   

AFTER VANDERBILT

Booker went on to play in the WNBA with the Utah Stars and the Houston Comets.

Booker has 15 seasons of experience as a coach. She worked for nine NCAA Division I programs and three NCAA Division III programs. She coached on the professional level in the WNBA and the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL).

She served as the head coach at two universities. She led NCAA Division I Cal Poly for two seasons and NCAA Division III Sewanee for two years.

Most recently, Booker has served as the campus representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at Mississippi State University.

For ten years, Booker served as an NCAA Basketball official for all three levels of the NCAA as well as NAIA and Junior College games. Then became an Officials Observer for the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

GROWING UP

Karen Booker is the eleventh of twelve children of the late Monroe and Mary Booker. All twelve children graduated from college. The family has been recognized by United States President (George H. W. Bush), USA Today, and Jet Magazine.

TREVECCA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY

The Trojans just completed their tenth season as members of NCAA Division II and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Booker is the sixth coach in the history of the women's basketball program at Trevecca and the fourth since the program restarted in 1996. She is the second hired during the NCAA Division II era for the program. 

TREVECCA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY

Press Conference (YouTube)

What They are Saying | Quotes about Karen Booker (PDF)

Photo Gallery

Tennessean (Mike Organ Coverage)

Mainstreet (Russell Vannozzi Coverage)

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