Head Coach

Jill Pace | Women's Basketball Head Coach

Jill Pace enters her fourth season as head coach in 2022-2023.

In the 2021-2022 season, the Jumbos finished 22-5 and made the program’s 11th straight “Sweet Sixteen” appearance. Two years prior, in 2019-2020, she directed the team to wins in their first 26 games—a new Tufts record—and to a 28–1 final mark. The Jumbos were in strong contention for the NCAA championship, but as Tufts was preparing to host the “Sweet Sixteen,” the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. The team finished the year ranked second in the D3hoops national poll and posted a perfect 10–0 NESCAC season for first place in the league.

Pace has coached two Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Americans in Maggie Russell and Erica DeCandido. DeCandido was also named D3hoops National Player of the Year and NESCAC Player of the Year during her senior season. Three Jumbos have received NESCAC All-Conference nods under Pace, in addition to 12 players earning NESCAC All-Academic selections. In 2019-20, Pace was named NESCAC Coach of the Year as well as D3hoops, WBCA, and NEWBA regional Coach of the Year.

From 2016-2019, Pace was the head coach at Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont, CA. The team finished the 2016-2017 season with a record of 1-23. The Sagehens improved to 8-17 for 2017-18 and then had an historic 2018-19 season finishing 22-6 including 14-2 in the league. The team won the program's first-ever Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship and posted 20 or more victories for the first time since 1991. Directing the team to its first NCAA appearance since 2002, Pace was named SCIAC Coach of the Year and D3hoops West Region Coach of the Year. 

Pace was an assistant coach under former Tufts head coach Carla Berube for two seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16. The Jumbos advanced to the NCAA "Final Four" in both years, including playing in the NCAA Championship Game in 2016. The 2014-15 team won the NESCAC title. 

A 2012 graduate of Bowdoin College, Pace earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and gender and women's studies. She played on teams that earned NCAA Tournament berths all four years and was also a part of the 2009 NESCAC Championship team. A captain of the 2011-12 Polar Bears, Pace is 12th on the all-time scoring list with 1,085 points. The 485 points she scored as a senior are the fifth-most in a single season in Bowdoin history. A WBCA Honorable Mention All-American as a senior, Pace was also a NESCAC All-Academic honoree and a three-time NESCAC All-Conference selection during her Bowdoin career.

Originally from Bath, Maine, Pace (formerly Jill Henrikson) got her start in coaching at Smith College in 2013-14 where she helped the Pioneers earn their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and first-ever NCAA win. She also received a master's degree from Smith in exercise and sport studies.