Hensen played for the Mariners in the early 1990s, and was a three-time all-state selection. She earned 1991 Alaska Player of the Year honors and led the Mariners to three straight Class 3A state titles from 1989-91.
She played college ball from 1991-95 at Northern Arizona, where she picked up numerous awards and broke several school records before ending her career as the school's all-time leading three-point shooter.
Hensen began her coaching career as a volunteer assistant on the UAA women's staff in 1995-96. She joined the UAA men's staff in 1996-97, also as an assistant, and became only the second woman to coach a men's team at a four-year college.
Her work with the Seawolves helped the UAA men to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
After leaving UAA, Hensen served as an assistant coach for the last six years at the Division I women's level. She worked the last three seasons at the University of New Mexico, helping the team reach the Sweet 16 in this year's NCAA tournament.
Hensen, 30, will return to Alaska this summer to start her new position. She replaces former UAA head coach Brandi Dunigan, who led the program for the past four years. The Seawolves have advanced to the Division II postseason only twice in the last nine seasons, but Hensen is hoping to change that.
"Being a head coach at the University of Alaska Anchorage has been a dream of mine for a long time," Hensen said in a news release. "I deeply believe that the Seawolves women's basketball program can become a top-10 contender."
If anyone can turn the program around, many feel that Hensen is the one to do it. She has coached in the last four women's Division I NCAA Tournaments, and was rated as one of the nation's top-10 rising Division I assistant coaches this season by WomensHoopsScoop.com.The Seawolves return all 11 players from last season's team, which finished in seventh-place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Also joining the Seawolf ranks next fall as a freshman will be Ninilchik High School standout Whitney Leman. Leman was torn between basketball programs at several schools and was waiting for the head coaching job to be filled at UAA before making her final decision.
"I'm really happy with the choice they made for head coach," Leman said. "It certainly helped make my decision a lot easier."
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