Women's Basketball
Atonye Nyingifa
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- anyingifa@athletics.ucla.edu
Dec. 30, 2023
LOS ANGELES – UCLA Women's Basketball has added Atonye Nyingifa (2008-09, 2010-14) as an assistant coach, the Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close announced Saturday.
"Atonye Nyingifa has been a loyal alum ever since she left," said Close. "She's been playing professionally for 10 years, she's an entrepreneur, but she's also been working out with us in the offseasons for a long time."
"When it came to this position, it was just a perfect fit. It's almost like Atonye never left, we're just thrilled to have someone of her competitive quality involved in the lives of our players," continued UCLA's head coach. "Her loyalty to and pride in UCLA makes her the perfect fit at the perfect time.
Nyingifa returns to Westwood after a decorated international basketball career. She has played professionally in Mexico, Spain, Nigeria, Israel, Thailand and Turkey. Nyingifa also represented Nigeria at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games and the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.
The Nigerian national team claimed the FIBA Women's AfroBasket championship in 2017 and 2019 with Nyingifa on the roster. She averaged 9.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists with nearly two steals per game during the first championship run, and she played more than 20 minutes per game in both tournaments.
"Being an assistant coach at UCLA is everything," said Nyingifa. "It's everything and more that I could've dreamed of. It's literally a full circle moment to be coaching at my alma mater, and just to be given this chance - I am completely grateful to Coach Cori and her coaching staff for welcoming me back."
The Torrance, Calif., native played basketball at UCLA from 2008 until 2013. She finished her Bruin career with 1,570 points; her career point total ranked 12th on the all-time scoring list when she left Westwood. Nyingifa also grabbed 920 rebounds in her career, battling to be the top Bruin on the boards during her time with the UCLA program.
Nyingifa was selected to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team during her inaugural campaign, and she also made the Pac-10 All-Tournament Team as rookie in the Conference. The Bruin battled injuries throughout her career, but she finished her final campaign scoring 18.2 points per game and grabbing 8.6 rebounds per game during the 2013-14 season.
LOS ANGELES – UCLA Women's Basketball has added Atonye Nyingifa (2008-09, 2010-14) as an assistant coach, the Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close announced Saturday.
"Atonye Nyingifa has been a loyal alum ever since she left," said Close. "She's been playing professionally for 10 years, she's an entrepreneur, but she's also been working out with us in the offseasons for a long time."
"When it came to this position, it was just a perfect fit. It's almost like Atonye never left, we're just thrilled to have someone of her competitive quality involved in the lives of our players," continued UCLA's head coach. "Her loyalty to and pride in UCLA makes her the perfect fit at the perfect time.
Nyingifa returns to Westwood after a decorated international basketball career. She has played professionally in Mexico, Spain, Nigeria, Israel, Thailand and Turkey. Nyingifa also represented Nigeria at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games and the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.
The Nigerian national team claimed the FIBA Women's AfroBasket championship in 2017 and 2019 with Nyingifa on the roster. She averaged 9.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists with nearly two steals per game during the first championship run, and she played more than 20 minutes per game in both tournaments.
"Being an assistant coach at UCLA is everything," said Nyingifa. "It's everything and more that I could've dreamed of. It's literally a full circle moment to be coaching at my alma mater, and just to be given this chance - I am completely grateful to Coach Cori and her coaching staff for welcoming me back."
The Torrance, Calif., native played basketball at UCLA from 2008 until 2013. She finished her Bruin career with 1,570 points; her career point total ranked 12th on the all-time scoring list when she left Westwood. Nyingifa also grabbed 920 rebounds in her career, battling to be the top Bruin on the boards during her time with the UCLA program.
Nyingifa was selected to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team during her inaugural campaign, and she also made the Pac-10 All-Tournament Team as rookie in the Conference. The Bruin battled injuries throughout her career, but she finished her final campaign scoring 18.2 points per game and grabbing 8.6 rebounds per game during the 2013-14 season.
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