Burns (pictured below) will serve as the associate head coach joining the USC staff after an impressive career at San Diego State, where she stands as the winningest coach in program history with a 295-186 overall record at the school. In all, Burns has 21 years of head coaching experience, including six years at Ohio State, earning six conference Coach of the Year awards and making eight NCAA appearances, including a 2010 trip to the Sweet Sixteen."Beth is a legend," Cooper-Dyke said of Burns. "She established a winning culture at San Diego State that is in line with what we are working to do here at USC. She is a defensive-minded coach who has such wisdom when it comes to college basketball. Her passion and energy also make her a great fit for us here at USC, and I'm very eager to have her on staff."
Click here for the complete story.
Edwards (pictured right) comes to USC after an assistant coaching stint at Cal State Fullerton. The Carson native prepped at Long Beach Poly, where she won back-to-back state championships, and then played collegiately at Fresno State, where she helped the Bulldogs win four Western Athletic Conference championships and made four trips to the NCAA Tournament.
"Taja is a bright, young coach who I really believe has a great future," Cooper-Dyke said of Edwards. "She has NCAA Tournament experience as a player, so she knows what it takes to succeed as a student-athlete on the court and in the classroom."
Previous assistant coaches Brandi Manning and Evan Unrau were not retained after last season.
