Two weeks after losing its head coach to South Dakota, the NKU women’s basketball team has its new leader.

Camryn Whitaker, most recently an assistant for the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team, was named NKU women’s basketball head coach today by Ken Bothof, director of athletics at NKU.

According to a release from the athletic department, a press conference will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday to introduce Whitaker.

“I am delighted to welcome Camryn to Norse Nation,” Bothof said in a release. “As I have gotten to know more about Camryn over the last two weeks it became clear that she is the right fit to lead our women’s basketball program. Camryn not only has a great basketball IQ, she has also excelled in recruiting and developing her student-athletes on and off the court. Combining those elements with her ties to Kentucky and Ohio make her the right coach for NKU.”

Whitaker will be returning to BB&T Arena, but this time as the Norse’s head coach. The Wildcats visited NKU Dec. 2, 2015, in a game that saw the Norse leading at halftime. The nationally-ranked Wildcats pulled away to win 84-65.

Before joining Kentucky’s staff, Whitaker was an assistant for the University of Dayton for three years. UD was 79-18 overall and 42-4 in the Atlantic 10 during that stretch.

“I am extremely grateful that President [Geoffrey] Mearns and Ken have given me this incredible opportunity to lead the Northern Kentucky women’s basketball team and I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to each of them,” Whitaker said in the release. “NKU has such a rich history filled with many great accomplishments and I look forward to continuing that success in this next chapter at Northern Kentucky. The current student-athletes on this team are all high character and I cannot wait to work with these young women.”

A native of Cynthiana, Kentucky, Whitaker played basketball at Harrison County High School earning second-team all-state honors.

Whitaker replaces Dawn Plitzuweit, who was hired by South Dakota April 22.