Anna DeForge is back for her second season with the Milwaukee women’s basketball team as an assistant coach in 2023-24.
In her first season with the team, she helped lead the team to one of its most impressive defensive performances in late December, as the Panthers held Detroit Mercy to a program-record .175 shooting percentage while holding the Titans to a record low 29 points. The team also earned conference wins over the top-two league-favorites with a win over Green Bay on December 1, and a victory at Youngstown State on February 17. The team earned the seventh seed and knocked off Robert Morris in the Horizon League first round.
DeForge, a two-time WNBA All-Star, brings an extensive background in playing, coaching, and recruiting to the Panther coaching staff. Prior to Milwaukee, DeForge was a coach with the Purple Aces and Barium AAU programs and was responsible for student-athlete development.
For the last seven years, she has also provided training and life skills across the Midwest as founder of Anna DeForge Basketball.
The Niagara, Wisconsin native competed eight seasons in the WNBA before continuing her pro career overseas, compiling a resume of over 17 years of playing professionally.
DeForge was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Shock in prior to the 2000-01 season before spending time with the Houston Comets. She spent three seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, averaging better than 20 points per game in each of her three seasons in Arizona.
She later spent two seasons with the Indiana Fever before one year with the Minnesota Lynx and wrapping up her WNBA career with the Shock once again.
Prior to her pro career, DeForge played four years at the University of Nebraska and graduated as one of the best all-around players in Husker history. She earned honorable-mention All-America accolades from The Associated Press twice and claimed a pair of First Team All-Big 12 honors. Additionally, DeForge earned academic honors and was one of five named to Nebraska’s All-Century Team.
During her four seasons at Nebraska, DeForge played in 117 games and scored 1,859 points for an average of 15.9 points per game. She shot .426 from the floor and better than 33 percent from beyond the arc. She also collected over 800 rebounds while with the Huskers.
