Georgetown women's basketball coach Tasha Butts died Monday after a two-year battle with breast cancer, the school's athletic director said.

The 41-year-old coach was diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer in 2021. She stepped away from coaching Georgetown last month. Her diagnosis inspired the Tasha Tough campaign which has brought awareness and raised money to bring quality care to women who can't afford it through the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

She came to Georgetown from Georgia Tech this past April after a long coaching and professional WNBA career. She joined the Georgia Tech women's basketball staff as an assistant coach in April 2019, and was promoted to associate head coach two years later.

"I am heartbroken for Tasha's family, friends, players, teammates and colleagues," said Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed. "When I met Tasha, I knew she was a winner on the court, and an incredible person whose drive, passion and determination was second to none. She exhibited these qualities both as a leader and in her fight against breast cancer.

"This is a difficult time for the entire Georgetown community, and we will come together to honor her memory."

Butts replaced James Howard as Georgetown coach in April, saying she was "super excited about this new journey."

A native of Milledgeville, Georgia, Butts played college basketball at Tennessee. She was part of teams that went 124-17 from 2000 to 2004 and reached the Sweet 16 in all four seasons, including back-to-back appearances in the national championship game her junior and senior seasons.

Butts spent one season in the WNBA with the Minnesota Lynx and also played internationally before going into coaching as an assistant at Duquesne in 2007. She then spent three years at UCLA , eight years at LSU and then moved to Georgia Tech in 2019 before being hired as head coach at Georgetown.