After eight years of service, Alabama A&M women's basketball coach Margaret Richards decided to step down from her position. The university's athletic director Dr. Paul A. Bryant said she stepped away to pursue other opportunities.
“We are grateful for the dedication and effort that Coach Richards has shown during her tenure with the Alabama A&M University women's basketball program,” Bryant said in a statement. “Her commitment to our student-athletes has been unwavering, and we wish her the best in her future endeavors.”
The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a 15-16 season that ended abruptly in the first round of the SWAC Tournament. Alabama A&M earned a #5 seed, matching them up against #4 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Golden Lions defeated the Lady Bulldogs 82-74, despite playing closer to home in Birmingham, Alabama.
Within the conference, Alabama A&M posted a respectable 10-8 record. They had beaten Arkansas-Pine Bluff earlier in the year, and notched key victories over Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman in double overtime, and rival Alabama State.
The Lady Bulldogs boasted a couple conference award-winners on their roster. Amiah Simmons earned Second Team All-SWAC honors, while Kaylah Turner won the Freshman of the Year award. Simmons is in her second season at Alabama A&M. This year, she led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 15.7 points per game. She also averaged 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Her teammate, Turner, averaged 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
Despite the disappointment in the SWAC Tournament, Margaret Richards and her teams have tasted success many times before. Since her hiring in 2016, Alabama A&M has made the SWAC Tournament six times. In the 2019-20 season, they made the tournament semifinals. Two years later, they finished second in the conference after winning 13 games. Overall, Richards has a 97-125 record and a 69-70 record in conference play.
Before coming to Alabama A&M, Richards was an assistant coach at Clemson from 2015-16, where she dealt with coaching the guards in particular, as well as recruiting and gathering scouting reports. Prior to that, she spent three years at Western Kentucky.
As an assistant, she helped the program reach two NCAA Tournament appearances, two conference titles, and a regular season title. During her time, Western Kentucky won 76 total games, including a 30-5 season in 2014-15.
Richards came to Western Kentucky from North Texas, where she spent two season's as the Mean Green's recruiting coordinator and guard developer. The next season, she was an assistant coach at Weber State, a school famous for producing NBA All-Star Damian Lillard.
Richards also has extensive experience with HBCUs. She kicked off her coaching career as an assistant coach at Kentucky State from 2005-07. After a short stint as a graduate assistant at Louisville, Richards took over the women's basketball program at Saint Augustine's from 2008-2010.
In two seasons, her teams recorded a 33-24 record. She made an immediate impact her first season, leading St. Augustine's to 15 wins and their first CIAA semifinals appearance in six years. The next year, they went 18-10 and won the CIAA Western Division championship.
Both Richards and Alabama A&M are searching for their next opportunities.
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