GW women’s head basketball coach Joe McKeown announced last week the hiring of Ali Jaques as assistant coach to replace Lisa Cermignano, who took an equal position at Vanderbilt three weeks ago.

“She’s a terrific coach,” McKeown said Friday in a phone interview about Jaques. “She brings a lot of experience and energy to the table.”

The post will be Jaques’ fifth collegiate coaching job, after employment at Rider University (N.J.), Sacred Heart University (Conn.), Furman University (S.C.) and Dayton. She spent one year on the Flyers’ staff.

“Being part of a championship program at George Washington is very exciting to me,” Jaques said in a news release. “Add to that the opportunity to work with Joe McKeown, and this is my dream job.”

Jaques hails from New Jersey and was a four-year letter-winner at New York University. She led the Violets to four Division III NCAA Tournament appearances, including a national championship in her junior season.

McKeown said he believes that her time at NYU gives her an advantage because she has experience at an urban campus. In addition, McKeown said she “brings a wide array of experiences” to the Colonials’ program.

The women’s basketball program places great emphasis on aggressive recruitment, an area in which McKeown believes Jaques will excel.

“She is one of the top recruiters in the country; she has tremendous networking ties to areas in the South, Southwest and the West, areas where we want to expand,” McKeown said. Jaques was the recruiting coordinator at Sacred Heart and worked closely with recruitment at Furman.

Jaques arrived in Foggy Bottom last week and is getting situated on campus.