June 2, 2006

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Kelly Komara, formerly a graduate assistant at Auburn University, was named an assistant women's basketball coach and Carol Duncan was appointed Northwestern's assistant director of operations, head coach Beth Combs announced today.

"We are fortunate to bring in such highly respected people in Kelly and Carol," Combs said. "The success they have had at Purdue and in the state of Indiana will benefit our program immensely. Kelly has proven herself as both a collegian and professional and will bring a great innate sense of the game. Her enthusiasm is contagious and her competitiveness is second to none. Carol has played for two of the best coaches in our game and will be a major asset to our program. She knows how to succeed and we look forward to having her on our side."

Before joining the Tiger staff, Komara enjoyed a prolific career as a Boilermaker from 1999-02. The Schereville, Ind. native began her four years in West Lafayette in dramatic fashion, earning a national championship ring as part of the 1999 squad. Komara was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshmen squad that year.

She was named the 2001 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year while propelling the Boilers to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament. Also that year, Komara was named the Indiana Woman of the Year and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and the WBCA All-Star Team.

In 2000 and 2001, Komara was an All-Big Ten honorable mention and was the NCAA Mideast Regional Most Outstanding Player in 2001. She set the Boilermaker single-season steals record in 2001-02 and is currently third on the all-time steals list. She ended her career as the 13th all-time leading scorer in the prolific Purdue program and sixth on the three-point field goals made ledger.

She was a third-round pick in the 2001 WNBA draft, and played a season with the Indiana Fever. Komara also played professionally in the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) for the Grand Rapids Blizzard and was a participated as an All-Star member of the Greece Cup in 2003-04.

Komara was also a student-assistant at Purdue prior to joining the staff at Auburn.

Duncan was a four-year forward at Purdue from 2002-06. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer, Duncan played in 122 games during her career. The Boilermakers made the NCAA Tournament in each of her four years at Purdue, including two appearances in the Sweet 16 and one trip to the Elite Eight.

She earned her bachelor's degree in English and minors in Communications, Psychology, History, and Women's Studies in May 2006. Duncan worked as an instructor at the Purdue Women's Basketball Camp and as a personal assistant for State Farm Insurance prior to joining the Wildcat staff.