Kate Bowes begins her third season as a collegiate head coach as she continues her building process with the Rutgers-Camden women’s basketball program. In her two seasons, the Lady Raptors have gone from a senior-dominated club to one of the youngest teams in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, offering hope that the program’s maturation and turnaround is on the horizon.

During Bowes’ first season at Rutgers-Camden in 2007-08, the Lady Raptors featured four senior captains completing their collegiate careers and a pair of exciting young freshmen in Karima Blackwell and Sarah Gorbe. Although the team posted an 8-17 record for the second consecutive season, Blackwell earned three honors as the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week on her way to being named the team’s Most Valuable Player.

Bowes’ second team was full of youth with an eye pointing toward the future. The Raptors started two freshmen and two sophomores in almost every game. Even though the young guns took their lumps during a 2-22 season, there were plenty of reasons for optimism. Blackwell won her second straight team MVP award and earned NJAC Honorable Mention. The Raptors’ other key sophomore, Gorbe, led the way by example, becoming the team’s Most Dedicated Player. That duo combined with a pair of freshmen – Casey Crenny and Stephanie Deisley – who were the only two players to start all 24 games last season. Crenny and Deisley also were 1-2 on the team in field goal percentage to help Rutgers-Camden lead the conference with a .703 team accuracy mark from the foul line.

Late in the season, the Raptors received another promising addition. Freshman Regina Ondah joined the team in the second semester, giving a strong performance that bodes well for the future.

Bowes’ first season as a collegiate head coach produced several highlights. The Raptors posted a 70-51 win in the consolation game of the UMass-Boston Tip-Off Classic (Nov. 17, 2007) for Bowes’ first head coaching victory.  Eight days later, senior Carmen Oyola passed the 1,000-point plateau for her combined collegiate career at Rutgers-Camden and Cumberland County College. Late in the season, senior Imani Hafiz became the program’s career leader in steals, raising the standard to 366.

One of the biggest highlights for Bowes came on Feb. 16 when Rutgers-Camden rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to edge Rowan University, 68-65, on the road. Blackwell led the charge, notching career-high totals of 30 points and 19 rebounds, while setting a program record for a perfect performance from the foul line (12-for-12).

Bowes’ second season was an accomplishment in itself – she became the first Lady Raptors basketball coach to return for a second season since Jackie Trakimas completed her five-year run in 2003-04.

During Bowes’ four-year playing career at King’s College, from 1999-2000 through 2002-03, the Lady Monarchs posted a combined 92-21 record, earned four straight NCAA tournament berths, two Freedom Conference championships and added one overall Middle Atlantic Conference runner-up position. The 2001-02 King’s College team went 25-4 and made the NCAA Elite Eight, while the 2002-03 team was 24-4 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.

Bowes played in 106 games as a point-guard and off-guard at King’s, making three starts, and earning the reputation as a tenacious defender. She averaged 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 15.4 minutes played per game in her career. She finished with 188 assists and 106 steals in a Monarchs uniform.

Bowes earned All-Catholic League basketball honors in each of her last three seasons at Arch Bishop Prendergast High School. She also was a three-year letter-winner in softball and served as president of the Community Service Corps. That track record for service led Bowes to serve with AmeriCorps following her 2003 graduation from King’s College, where she majored in Communications and Marketing.

Bowes’ year-long stint with AmeriCorps was spent in New Orleans. During that time, she also served as the head boys’ basketball coach at Bishop Perry Middle School for the 2003-04 school year. Her team captured the city championship, making Bowes the first female head coach to lead a boys’ team to the New Orleans title.

Returning from New Orleans, Bowes started a three-year run as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Albright College. The Lady Lions improved steadily, posting a 5-20 record the first year (2004-05) and a 14-11 mark during the 2005-06 campaign. They capped Bowes’ stay at Albright with a school-record 18-10 mark in 2006-07, reaching post-season play for the first time in 10 years. They competed in the program’s first ECAC Tournament ever, where they advanced to the semifinals.

Bowes also has coached numerous basketball camps over the years, including the Keystone State Camp (five years), Albright College Camp (three years), both the West Chester University Camp and the C. Vivian Stringer Basketball Camp (two years apiece) and the Kathy Rush Future Stars Camp (once). This past summer she added another new camp, working at the Philly Point Guard Camp.