Wendi Willits

Wendi Wells ( Willits; born November 18, 1978) is an American basketball coach and former player. Before coaching, Wells had 3,345 points while playing high school basketball in Fort Cobb, Oklahoma. With the Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball team from 1997 to 2001, Wells had 1574 points and set an Arkansas career record with 316 three-pointers. As part of the Razorbacks, Wells and her team reached the final four during the 1998 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and won the 1999 Women's National Invitation Tournament. After joining the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001, Wells and the team won the 2001 WNBA Championship. As an assistant coach, Wells worked for the University of West Georgia and Shawnee High School in the early to late 2000s. She has been girls basketball high school head coach in Shawnee, Oklahoma since 2008.

Early life and education Wendi Willits was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma on November 18, 1978. During her childhood, she started playing basketball as a toddler and grew up in Fort Cobb, Oklahoma. At Fort Cobb-Broxton, she played in 128 girls basketball games and scored 3,345 points. During her final year in high school, Wells was named player of the year by The Oklahoman in 1997. For her post-secondary education, she went to the University of Arkansas to study exercise physiology. In college tournaments, she and the Razorbacks made it to the final four at the 1998 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and won the 1999 Women's National Invitation Tournament. During her 131 games with the Razorbacks, she had 1574 points overall. Leading up to the 2020-2021 season, Wells was seventh in all-time career points for Arkansas. With 316 three-pointers, she has held the Arkansas career record for almost twenty years. She also received the Ed Steitz Award in 1999 for having the highest three point percentage in NCAA Division I schools.

Professional career In 2001, Wells started her WNBA career when she joined the Los Angeles Sparks. During her only season with the Sparks, she played in thirteen regular season games and had seventeen points. That season, she played in four playoffs games and scored zero points. Of her playoff games, Wells played in the 2001 WNBA Championship where she and the Sparks defeated the Charlotte Sting. After being let go by the Sparks, she moved to Florida for employment.

Coaching career After leaving the WNBA, Wells started her assistant coaching tenure with the University of West Georgia in 2003. After leaving for Shawnee High School in 2006, she continued her assistant coaching tenure until 2008. In December 2008, Wells became the girls basketball head coach at Shawnee. During her head coach tenure, Wells won her hundredth game in 2013. Leading up to the 2020-2021 season, Wells had 194 wins and 50 losses with Shawnee.

Career statistics

†Denotes season in which Willits won a WNBA championship WNBA Regular season

Playoffs

College

Personal life Wells is married and has one child.