SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Former Gonzaga and Saint Mary's coach Cynthia

Mayes was named assistant women's basketball coach at Sacramento

State, it was announced today by head coach Carolyn Jenkins.

Mayes will join Jenkins and current assistant Sarah Stapp on the

Hornet sidelines for the upcoming season. Jenkins still plans to add

a graduate assistant before the season.

"Cynthia is a great person and a great coach," Jenkins said. "She's

definitely one of the up-and-coming coaches in our profession. She

brings four years of coaching experience to our program and she's a

proven recruiter."

Mayes spent last season as an assistant at Gonzaga under head coach

Kelly Graves. Prior to that, the Citrus Heights, Calif., native

coached three seasons at Saint Mary's (1997-2000).

Her coaching career began as an associate head coach with the

Sacramento Capitals AAU team in the summer of 1998. She guided the

squad to the "Battle of the Bay" championship and also served as

coordinator for the Sacramento Basketball Festival.

A 1993 graduate of Del Campo High School, Mayes played four years at

both the point and shooting guard positions at Pepperdine University

(1993-97) Mayes, who played 98 career games for the Waves, was a

three-time West Coast Conference all-academic selection.

At Del Campo, she was a two-time first team all-Capital Athletic

League selection and became the third player in school history to

break the 1,000-point scoring barrier.

She graduated from Pepperdine with a degree in Sports Administration

and minor in Sports Medicine. She is currently pursuing a master's

degree in counseling.