ATLANTA  – Lesley Dickinson has been named director of basketball operations and Deandra Schirmer has been selected as the graduate assistant, Georgia State women's head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener announced Friday.

Dickinson, who was the assistant director of operations for Virginia women's basketball last year, returns to Georgia State where she served two seasons as the graduate assistant.  A former all-conference basketball player at James Madison, Dickinson was the Colonial Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior business major in 2007.

“We are delighted to bring Lesley back because she will be a valuable asset in our move to a new conference and in taking care of the behind-the-scenes details that are required to keep a basketball program functioning properly,” Baldwin-Tener said.  “She is a quality person who takes pride in her work and takes advantage of her opportunities.”

Dickinson was a prep star at Christ The King High School in her hometown of Queens, N.Y., and played on a team that won the state Catholic Association Class A title. Recruited to James Madison, Dickinson began to shine as the CAA Rookie of the Year and went on to score 1,616 points in four years for the Dukes.

Schirmer is working toward a master's degree in sports administration at Georgia State after earning a business marketing degree at USC-Aiken, where she was a member of the Pacers' basketball team that competed in the Peach Belt Conference.  A Kansas native, Schirmer was valedictorian of her class at Holton High School before going on to Cloud County Community College.

Georgia State makes its move to the Sun Belt Conference on July 1. The Panthers open the 2013-14 campaign in November in the preseason WNIT.