Head Coach | Kristen Dowling

From her playing days at the University of Redlands to her seven-year coaching stint at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Kristen Dowling is no stranger to The SCIAC. She is also no stranger to success as the owner of six SCIAC regular season championships with the Athenas, as well as four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. She became the Head Coach of the Whittier College women's basketball team on Oct. 21, 2024.

Prior to her arrival at Whittier, Dowling served as an assistant for one season under Head Coach Rich Murphy at the University of Redlands, her alma mater -- this, after a four-year run as the head coach of Division I Pepperdine University women's basketball. Under Dowling, the Waves produced two All-WCC selections, two WCC All-Freshman team picks, and one WCC All-Tournament team member. They also reached the semifinals of the 2020 WCC Tournament. Dowling's time at Pepperdine was a homecoming of sorts, as she had worked as a graduate assistant and academic advisor during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, then returned as an assistant coach for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns under then-head coach Julie Rousseau. Prior to Pepperdine, the Upland, Calif.-native worked as an assistant coach at CSU Bakersfield for two seasons. The Roadrunners went 35-23 those two years and made their first-ever Division I postseason appearance in the 2010 Women's Basketball Invitational.

Her CMS teams had six consecutive 20-win seasons, including five seasons with at least 23 wins. Dowling's Athenas are also notable for the 2015 season in which she and her staff were minted Coaching Staff of the Year, as they are the last SCIAC team to run the table at a perfect 16-0 in conference play.

Restricted to SCIAC games, Dowling's coaching record is a sterling 93-19 (.830). Excluding her first season, her Athenas teams dropped just eight SCIAC regular season games in six years. She will now look to build on her SCIAC and career success with the Poets, a team looking to continue its upward momentum as a SCIAC women's basketball power.

Dowling earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Redlands in 2004 while majoring in Spanish and minoring in Physical Education. She earned her Master's degree from Pepperdine in educational technology in 2007.

Assistant Coach Lizzie Scriven

Bio coming soon!