Kate Paye Last College: Stanford, 1995 Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Seventh Season

Kate Paye begins her seventh season as a member of the Stanford women's basketball coaching staff in 2012-13.

Since Paye's return to Stanford in 2007-08, the Cardinal has been one of the top teams in the nation, going 205-19 (.915), reaching two national title games and becoming one of just four programs to reach the Final Four five season in a row (2008-12). Paye's responsibilities with the program include working with the perimeter players, overseeing the defense, opponent scouting and recruiting.

Under Paye's tutelage, the Cardinal perimeter players have garnered national and conference awards and recognition and established program and personal bests. Last season Paye played a key role in the breakout seasons of a pair of underclassmen guards, as sophomore Toni Kokenis was named to the All-Pac-12 Team and freshman Amber Orrange was named Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honorable mention. Kokenis increased her scoring output to 9.5 points a game in 2011-12, an increase of over four points a game, and her 2.28 assist-to-turnover ratio paced the Pac-12 and ranked eighth in the nation. Orrange, meanwhile, developed into one of the conference's top point guards in the second half of the season, averaging 8.6 points and 3.69 assists over the final 13 games of the season.

Two players previously under Paye's tutelage, Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen, each earned national and conference recognition and were selected in the first round of the 2011 WNBA Draft.

Paye's work with Pedersen contributed to the forward's successful transition from an inside player to a dominant perimeter threat. In 2010-11, Pedersen was named to the All-Pac-10 Team and was an Associated Press All-America honorable mention. In April, Pedersen was selected seventh overall in the WNBA Draft by the Tulsa Shock.

Pohlen enjoyed a career year in 2010-11, scoring 14.5 points per game and setting a new Stanford single-season record with 96 3-pointers made. She was named to the Associated Press All-America First Team and captured the Pac-10 Player of the Year award. In April 2011, she was picked ninth overall in the WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.

Paye played a key role in the development of senior guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, who became Stanford's first Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 and was regarded as one of the country's top defensive guards.

In 2007-08, Paye coached Stanford standout Candice Wiggins to a record-breaking senior season in which the Cardinal guard earned her fourth straight All-America honor, third Pac-10 Player of the Year award, the Wade Trophy Player of the Year Award, and was the No. 3 pick by the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Draft.

Paye, who earned the Cardinal's "Best Defensive Player" award in 1994, has played a vital role in shaping a dominant and aggressive Stanford defense in the past four seasons. Stanford has held its opponents to their four lowest-scoring seasons over the last four years, highlighted by an all-time low of just 53.9 points per game in 2009-10. In 2011-12 the Cardinal held opponents to just 55.3 points per game, second-best in the Pac-12.

The Cardinal defense has also held its opponents to their three lowest shooting percentages over each of the past three years, highlighted by a single-season record of 33.6 percent in 2010-11. In 2009-10 and 2011-12 the Cardinal held opponents to a 33.9 shooting percentage.

Paye has also been instrumental in the Cardinal recruiting efforts which have landed the program five consecutive Top-10 ranked classes including two top-ranked prospects and Gatorade National Players of the Year in Nnemkadi Ogwumike (2008) and Chiney Ogwumike (2010).

Prior to joining the Cardinal staff in 2007-08, Paye spent the previous two seasons at San Diego State, leaving the program as associate head coach after helping guide the Aztecs to the 11th-greatest team improvement in NCAA Division I and the biggest turnaround in Mountain West Conference history in 2006-07.

During her tenure at San Diego State, Paye served as the offensive coordinator and perimeter coach and conducted all opponent scouting. Paye also played an integral role in the Aztec recruiting efforts that rebuilt the San Diego State program into MWC champions and an NCAA Tournament participant. Paye was instrumental in the recruitment of All-MWC performers Quenese Davis, Paris Johnson and Jene Morris.

A native of Woodside, Calif., Paye was a four-year member of the Stanford women's basketball team that claimed the national championship in 1992 and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1995. A three-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection and two-time team captain, Paye scored 743 points and averaged 3.22 assists and a steal per game in her Stanford career.

Paye earned her bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford in 1995. She also graduated with distinction with both her Juris Doctorate and Master's of Business Administration degrees from Stanford in 2003. Paye worked as a corporate attorney for Palo Alto-based, Cooley Godward LLP, before returning to basketball as a coach.

Prior to her second appointment at San Diego State, Paye spent the 2004-05 campaign as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, serving as the program's recruiting coordinator and guard coach. She helped guide the Waves to a fourth-place finish in the West Coast Conference and a semifinal appearance in the WCC Tournament.

Out of college, Paye served as assistant coach at San Diego State during the 1995-96 season before going on to play basketball professionally, competing with the Seattle Reign of the ABL for three seasons (1996-98) and later with the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm from 2000-02. In her six-year professional career, Paye played with and competed against the top players in the world, including Katie Smith, Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie, and Sheryl Swoopes. She also worked with some of the most accomplished coaches in the college and pro ranks including Anne Donovan, Brian Agler and Lin Dunn.

In addition to being born at Stanford hospital, Paye's entire immediate family have all attended Stanford University.

Both Paye's father and brother, each named John, lettered as members of the Stanford football team. Her father lettered in 1962, while her brother, Stanford's starting quarterback from 1983-86, currently ranks third all-time in the school record book with 7,669 career passing yards and fourth overall with a career mark of 7,539 yards of total offense. The younger John also earned three letters as a point guard with the Stanford men's basketball team from 1984-86.