New Western Kentucky women’s basketball coach Greg Collins announced Friday that current Lady Topper graduate assistant Jhasmin Bowen will be promoted to a full-time assistant coach  effective immediately.

“In her two years as our GA, Jhasmin has done a great job of connecting with our players and doing everything that we as a staff have asked of her,” Collins said in a news release. “Being short an assistant in conference play this past season, she really stepped up for us and handled duties above and beyond what would normally be asked of her as a GA, and Jhasmin has proven herself more than deserving of joining our new staff that we are in the process of building.”

Bowen has served as the graduate assistant for the Lady Toppers each of the last two seasons, helping WKU to a 51-16 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Lady Toppers earned the C-USA regular-season championship after a 16-2 record in conference play in 2016-17 and claimed the C-USA Tournament championship during both of Bowen’s seasons on staff.

Prior to arriving at WKU, Bowen enjoyed a four-year playing career at Arkansas and played under Collins, then an assistant coach with the Razorbacks, during her freshman season in 2011-12.

Bowen, a native of Wichita, Kan., earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Arkansas in 2015 and is pursuing a master’s degree at WKU.