UMass Lowell women's basketball Head Coach Jon Plefka has announced the addition of assistant coach Amara Terry ahead of the 2025-26 season. Terry brings 10 years of collegiate coaching experience to UMass Lowell, most recently serving as an assistant women's basketball coach at Point Loma Nazarene University.
"I'm excited to welcome Amara to UMass Lowell as our recruiting coordinator," said Plefka. "Amara brings a unique blend of coaching experience across multiple collegiate levels including the America East and a strong track record of identifying and developing talent. Her energy, dedication, and recruiting insight will be instrumental in shaping the future of our program."
In her one year at Point Loma Nazarene, Terry led the program's opponent scouting, including on-court practice development, working closely on the program's defense strategy. She was also responsible for the development of the program's guards, including four total All-PacWest selections. She helped the Sea Lions make history by winning the PacWest Regular Season and Tournament Championship to earn a No. 3 seed in the NCAA West Regional, marking their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
"I am blessed to have this opportunity to work with Jon and I'm excited about what we are building when it comes to his vision, culture and leadership," said Terry. "Ready to build something great here!"
Prior to Point Loma Nazarene, Terry spent two years within the America East at New Hampshire as an assistant women's basketball coach, wearing many hats. She worked with recruiting, travel budget, opponent scouting, managed the program's practice squad, while also serving as the program's scheduling liaison and strength and conditioning coordinator. She assisted in the development of two America East All-Rookie selections, as well.
Before New Hampshire, Terry had assistant coaching stops at Howard Payne University and Allen Community College, after a three-year stint at Florida College. She also spent one season at Hillsborough Community College.
Terry earned her associates of arts degree from Hillsborough Community College in 2014, before earning a bachelor's degree in sports management in 2019 and master's degree in business administration in 2020 from Grand Canyon University. She is married to her husband, Kerry, and together they have a newborn son, Amari.
