BEREA, OHIO –  Baldwin Wallace University veteran Head Women's Basketball Coach Cheri Harrer announced the hiring of 2008 Bluffton University graduate Amanda Bell as an assistant coach.  She will assist Harrer in all facets on the game (practices and games), scouting, and recruiting. Bell replaces Allyson Campbell who is now a member of the University Admission Team.

Bell comes to BW after spending last season at Bluffton as a graduate assistant coach while working on a Master's of Arts in Education degree at her alma mater.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sport Management degree at Bluffton in 2008, and previously coached women's basketball at Findlay (Ohio) High School in 2008-2009 and served as a marketing and promotions assistant at NCAA Division I Wofford (S.C.) College in 2009-2010.

"We are extremely pleased and excited to welcome Amanda to Baldwin Wallace and our campus community," said Harrer, who owns a  466-172 career record and has built one of the nation's top NCAA Division III programs in Berea. "She brings a strong knowledge of the game and has a diverse background that will make her an asset to the University, our women's basketball program and our student-athletes. Our players immediately felt connected to Amanda. We look forward to working with her."

As a student-athlete on the basketball court, Bell lettered for four years, was a three-year team captain, earned honorable mention All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2007-2008 and was the Bluffton University Most Improved Player as a sophomore in 2005-2006.

"I am extremely excited to become a part of the Yellow Jacket family," said Bell. "I am looking forward to working with a great group of young ladies. I feel that I can bring great energy to the program along with a defensive edge."

"My expectation for the season is to continually work hard everyday and put ourselves in a position that we can compete to win the Ohio Athletic Conference title and advance to the NCAA Division III National Tournament," continued Bell. "The main goal is making sure that I have done my job in helping to fully prepare the team to win in the classroom, in games and on our campus."

"We welcome Amanda to the Baldwin Wallace athletics family," said Director of Athletics Kris A. Diaz.  "She brings a strong set of skills in a number of areas to both our basketball and athletics programs.  We feel that she will be a tremendous asset to our student-athletes."

FOR MORE B-W SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact SID Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu and Assistant SID Jeff Miller by telephone at 440-826-2780 and e-mail at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest B-W athletics information at www.BWyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.