"Carissa will be an excellent addition to our full-time staff," Johnston said. "She is very familiar with our University, our department, and our program. She is prepared to jump right in and help us continue our exceptional run of success at SDSU."

A graduate assistant during the 2011-12 season in which the Jackrabbits made their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, Nord replaces Emilee Thiesse, who was named head coach at Minnesota State, Mankato, earlier this week.

A native of Duluth, Minn., Nord has previously coached at the NCAA Division II and Division III levels. During the 2009-10 season, she helped lead the University of Chicago (Ill.) to a 19-7 record and a berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament. A year later, she served as a graduate assistant at Wayne State College (Neb.), where she was part of a coaching staff that helped lead the Wildcats to a 26-4 overall record, a first-place regular season finish in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and a berth in the NCAA Division II Central Regional.

In addition, Nord has coached the junior varsity team at Duluth Central High School (2008-09) and was the head coach of the Northern Lights AAU team in 2009.

Nord played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin-Superior for three seasons, serving as team captain for one year. She averaged more than 10 points per game for her career, including an average of 10.3 points per game during the 2007-08 campaign, when she shot 45 percent from behind the three-point line.