SENATOBIA – Northwest Mississippi Community College has hired former Ole Miss standout and international athlete Carla Bartee to the Lady Rangers' women's basketball staff, the school announced on Wednesday.

"I'm extremely excited to be at Northwest," Bartee said. "As I transition into my coaching career, I couldn't have received a better opportunity than to start my career here at a tradition-rich program like Northwest. I'm gradually getting accustomed every day to our expectations and how important it is for us to succeed not just athletically but academically as well. I'm eager to help build a new chapter in the future of this program."

A native of Waynesboro, Bartee spent her prep career at Wayne County High School where she averaged 24.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks during her senior season (2002-03), leading Wayne County to a 26-5 overall mark and a runner-up finish in Class 5A. Prior to her stellar senior campaign, Bartee also averaged 16.3 points and 11.6 rebounds as a junior and earned several notable accolades, including Second Team All-State recognition and honorable mention All-South honors by the Orlando Sentinel and All-America honors from Street & Smith's.

Bartee signed with Western Kentucky and spent the 2003-04 season with the Lady Toppers, playing in all 34 games, starting 27 and averaging 11.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. She scored a career-high 21 points on two occasions and posted a career-high 17 boards against Arkansas-Little Rock and notched nine double-doubles on the season, including a 21-point, 12-rebound effort against her future Ole Miss teammates.

Bartee earned All-Tournament Team honors at the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Championship and helped lead the Lady Toppers to the title game by tallying 15 points and seven rebounds in the tournament. She finished the 2003-04 season ranked 20th in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring and fourth in rebounding, while helping guide WKU to a 20-14 overall record and a 10-4 mark in conference play. The Lady Toppers advanced to postseason play, falling in the third round of the Women's NIT to UNLV, 78-75.

After transferring to Ole Miss following her freshman season, Bartee returned to the court during the 2005-06 season and played three more seasons with the Lady Rebels under coaches Carol Ross and Renee Ladner. While at Ole Miss, Bartee competed alongside legends such as Armintie Price and Shawn Goff, helping guide the Lady Rebels to a combined 54-41 record, a WNIT appearance and to the Elite Eight of the 2007 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

During her senior season in 2007-08, Bartee led the team in rebounding with 233 total boards and an average of eight rebounds per game. She also led the team in three-point field goal percentage as a sophomore, hitting nearly 33 percent of her shots from outside the arc (51-for-156).

After her Ole Miss career, Bartee spent 10 years playing overseas, beginning with a stint in Sweden from 2008-09. Bartee then took a year off before resuming her international career in Germany from 2010-11, eventually moving on to Romania, where she has resided from 2011-19.

"We are excited about bringing her into our program," head coach Troy Howell said. "She has played in the SEC, she knows what it takes to be a great basketball player. In the short time that she has been here, her development skills have grown. Our players like her and each day that goes by, our student-athletes are steadily getting better because of Coach Bartee. She brings a lot to the table and it has already started to show."

Northwest will open the 2019-20 season on Tuesday, Nov. 5 against Southwest Mississippi at Howard Coliseum.