Danielle Bell is set to begin her third season as an assistant coach with the Gardner-Webb women's basketball team in 2020-21.
Bell has been instrumental in helping Gardner-Webb and head coach Alex Simmons land a number of recruits, while also helping Carley Plentovich and Jhessyka Williams earn All-Big South Conference honors following the 2018-19 season. Plentovich also earned All-Conference honors following the 2020-21 season.
Before arriving in Boiling Springs, Bell had stints at Norfolk State, Richmond, Auburn, and Georgia.
Bell spent the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons as an assistant coach at Norfolk State, where she helped lead a team that won just three games the year prior to her arrival to two years with records of .500 or better. In her final season at Norfolk State, the Spartans were 18-11, which was program’s first winning season in 16 years. At Norfolk State, Bell was responsible for scheduling, recruiting, team academics, film exchange, game preparation and managing summer camps. She also worked with the team’s guards, helping lead Kayla Roberts to first team All-MEAC honors each of the past two seasons.
Prior to her time at NSU, Bell spent three seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations at Richmond, where she help oversee the administrative tasks for the Spiders, such as supervising managers and practice players, managing the team’s uniforms and equipment, and serving as co-director for Richmond’s summer camps.
Before spending time at Richmond, Bell worked as the Director of Operations at Auburn for the 2012-13 season, where she helped coordinate team travel, managed practice logistics, assisted in game-day preparations, served as an academic liaison, and managed the recruiting database, as well as overseeing the administrative tasks that supported the Tigers.
Bell’s coaching career began at the University of Georgia, where she spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach. There, she assisted in the day-to-day operations of the program, including practice, travel and official recruit visits. She also aided in player development with an emphasis on the team’s guards and helped with in-game responsibilities and the marketing of Georgia’s basketball camps.
Georgia made two NCAA appearances while Bell was on the staff, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2011.
Bell spent her collegiate career at Richmond, where she was a four-year letterwinner from 2006-10. A two-year starter, Bell helped guide the Spiders to consecutive 20-win seasons and two postseason appearances. She finished her career ranked seventh all-time in made three pointers for Richmond with 133, and finished her collegiate career with 801 career points.
Bell was a four-year letterwinner at Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, Va., and also took part in the Boo Williams AAU summer league program. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Richmond in 2010 and her master’s degree in adult education and sports management from Georgia in 2012.
