Camp Staff
Maria Williamson, Head Women's Basketball Coach
- (773) 702-5142
- Email
- (773) 702-5142
Maria Williamson enters her fourth year as head coach of the Maroons in the 2023-24 season.
UChicago posted a 23-5 record during the 2022-23 season - the fourth-highest win total in program history. The Maroons advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament and hosted postseason games for the first time since 2012. Senior guard Grace Hynes earned a bevy of awards, including WBCA Honorable Mention All-America, WBCA Division III All-Star Team, D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region and First Team All-UAA. Williamson and her assistants were named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year, and three Maroons earned All-UAA status.
The 2021-22 Maroons posted a 14-10 overall record in Williamson's on-floor debut season. Senior forward Klaire Steffens was a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American while also receiving D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region status and First Team All-UAA honors. Junior guard Grace Hynes was a Second Team All-UAA selection as well. The Maroons ranked third in the conference with 60.7 points allowed per game while forcing a league-high 18.8 turnovers per game.
Prior to her time in Hyde Park, Williamson had a long and successful tenure at high academic institutions across the country as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Most recently, Williamson completed a four-year stint at Loyola University Chicago. As the recruiting coordinator, Williamson helped bring in classes that led to six Missouri Valley All-Freshman Team honorees. As a program, Loyola increased its win total by 13 wins over those four years and over 171 RPI spots nationally.
Williamson came to Loyola from Dartmouth College where she was an assistant coach, guard coach and recruiting coordinator for three years. While at Dartmouth, Williamson also coordinated the team’s defense where they finished in the top three in the Ivy League and top 100 nationally for two seasons. Williamson also helped bring in the highest rated recruiting class for the program in 2016.
Williamson started her assistant coaching career at the United States Naval Academy working for her former head coach at Bowdoin College, Stefanie Pemper. While at Navy, the program saw unprecedented success, winning its first Patriot League Championship in program history before winning two more. Those three championships led to three NCAA tournament apprearances, where Navy went toe-to-toe with some of the best programs nationally. She also coached two All-Patriot League honorees (Kara Pollinger and Alix Membreno).
As a student-athlete, Williamson (formerly Maria Noucas) attended Bowdoin College and played her whole career on the women’s basketball team as a point guard. Her teams won three NESCAC conference championships and made four NCAA tournament appearances (two Elite Eights and two Second Round appearances). As a captain her senior year, Williamson earned First Team All-NESCAC honors. She is still ranked in the school's top 10 in career assists, single season assists, career 3-point field goal percentage, single season 3-point field goal percentage, and single season 3-point attempts.
Williamson graduated from Bowdoin in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She later earned her master's degree in coaching and leadership from Ohio University in 2013. Williamson lives in Hyde Park with her wife, Erica.
Year |
Overall |
Pct. |
UAA |
Pct. |
|
2022-23 | 23-5 | .821 | 10-4 | .714 | NCAA 3rd Round |
2021-22 | 14-10 | .583 | 7-7 | .500 | |
2020-21* | *Season cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic | ||||
Totals |
37-15 |
.711 |
17-11 |
.607 |
3 years |
Michelle Bilek, Assistant Women's Basketball Coach
- (773) 702-4639
- Email
- (773) 702-4639
Michelle Bilek enters her sixth season as a full-time assistant women's basketball coach for UChicago in 2023-24.
UChicago posted a 23-5 record during the 2022-23 season - the fourth-highest win total in program history. The Maroons advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament and hosted postseason games for the first time since 2012. Senior guard Grace Hynes earned a bevy of awards, including WBCA Honorable Mention All-America, WBCA Division III All-Star Team, D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region and First Team All-UAA. Head Coach Maria Williamson and her assistants were named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year, and three Maroons earned All-UAA status.
The 2021-22 Maroons posted a 14-10 overall record. Senior forward Klaire Steffens was a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American while also receiving D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region status and First Team All-UAA honors. Junior guard Grace Hynes was a Second Team All-UAA selection as well. The Maroons ranked third in the conference with 60.7 points allowed per game while forcing a league-high 18.8 turnovers per game.
In 2019-20, UChicago posted a 21-6 overall record and won the UAA title. The team qualified for the NCAA tournament for the fourth year in-a-row, advancing to the second round. Taylor Lake, Mia Farrell and Miranda Burt all surpassed 1,000 career points. Lake was named the UAA Player of the Year, as well as receiving All-American honors from D3hoops.com and the WBCA. Sain and her coaching staff garnered UAA Coaching Staff of the Year for the fourth time in six years.
The 2018-19 Maroons reached the NCAA postseason for the third-straight season, finishing with a 19-7 overall record. Olariche Obi became the 13th UChicago player to score 1,000 career points.
Bilek brings familiarity with the University Athletic Association (UAA). She arrived at UChicago after spending the 2017-18 season as an assistant coach at fellow conference school New York University. That season, the Violets posted an 18-11 overall record. Bilek also coached and mentored All-American guard Kaitlyn Read, who was picked as the Jostens Trophy winner as well as the UAA Player of the Year.
Prior to her experience at NYU, Bilek served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Columbia University from 2013-17. Her wide breadth of responsibilities included travel arrangements, team equipment, budgeting, academic liaison, community service, summer camps, filming and special events.
Bilek spent seven summers as a basketball camp counselor as well. The Mount Prospect, Ill. native worked camps hosted by Loyola Academy, Trinity High School and Northwestern University.
As a collegian, Bilek played four years of basketball for Illinois Wesleyan University. She was part of the Titans squad that reached the NCAA Final Four in 2011 and won the NCAA Division III national championship in 2012. She was picked as a team captain in her senior season.
Bilek graduated from IWU in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary education – child and family studies.
Dolly Yuan, Assistant Women's Basketball Coach
Dolly Yuan enters her fifth season as an assistant on the UChicago women’s basketball coaching staff in the 2023-24 season.
UChicago posted a 23-5 record during the 2022-23 season - the fourth-highest win total in program history. The Maroons advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament and hosted postseason games for the first time since 2012. Senior guard Grace Hynes earned a bevy of awards, including WBCA Honorable Mention All-America, WBCA Division III All-Star Team, D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region and First Team All-UAA. Head Coach Maria Williamson and her assistants were named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year, and three Maroons earned All-UAA status.
The 2021-22 Maroons posted a 14-10 overall record. Senior forward Klaire Steffens was a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American while also receiving D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region status and First Team All-UAA honors. Junior guard Grace Hynes was a Second Team All-UAA selection as well. The Maroons ranked third in the conference with 60.7 points allowed per game while forcing a league-high 18.8 turnovers per game.
As a college basketball player, Yuan was a three-year starter at point guard for Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She averaged 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in her career, while earning Second Team All-Conference honors. She ranks third in career free throw percentage (.757) and tied for sixth in career assists (282) in MIT history. Yuan graduated in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
Yuan is also a quantitative trader for IMC Financial Markets in Chicago.
Janae Gonzales, Assistant Coach
Janae Gonzales enters her second season as an assistant coach for the Maroons in 2023-24.
UChicago posted a 23-5 record during the 2022-23 season - the fourth-highest win total in program history. The Maroons advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament and hosted postseason games for the first time since 2012. Senior guard Grace Hynes earned a bevy of awards, including WBCA Honorable Mention All-America, WBCA Division III All-Star Team, D3hoops.com Second Team All-Region and First Team All-UAA. Head Coach Maria Williamson and her assistants were named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year, and three Maroons earned All-UAA status.