BOSTON — Cindy Blodgett is returning to the school where her coaching career started.

The former All-America guard at the University of Maine has joined first-year head coach Kady Steding’s staff at Boston University, Steding announced Wednesday.

Steding and Blodgett are former teammates, having spent the 2000 season together with the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA.

Blodgett, 38, had spent the last three seasons on the bench as an assistant under Cathy Inglese at the University of Rhode Island. Her tenure ended when URI announced in March that Inglese’s contract was not renewed after five seasons and a dismal 30-115 (.207) combined record.

Blodgett had been relieved of her head coaching duties at UMaine in the spring of 2011. Her teams compiled a 24-94 record in four seasons.

Blodgett’s coaching career began at BU in 1999, where she assisted with recruiting and film exchange in addition to on-court coaching under Margaret McKeon. She went on to serve two years as an assistant at Brown University.

“I am excited and humbled to welcome Cindy back into the Boston University family,” Steding said in a statement. “With her elite experience as a player and coach, Cindy is a great fit for me and this team. Moreover, she is a person of great character and will be a terrific mentor and role model for the young women we lead.”

Blodgett, a four-time All-American at UMaine who was selected sixth overall by the Cleveland Rockers in the 1998 WNBA draft, also played professionally in Korea and France. She is the 10th leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history with 3,005 points.

She led coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie’s Black Bears to four NCAA tournament appearances and four America East championships, and she was also the second woman in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring for two straight seasons.

Blodgett is also Maine’s all-time high school scoring leader with 2,596 career points at Lawrence High School in Fairfield, where she led the Bulldogs to four state Class A championships.

The Clinton, Maine, native led Lawrence High School to four-straight Class A State Championships and is Maine’s all-time leading scorer in high school basketball with 2,596 points. She was a three-time Maine Gatorade Player of the Year and named Miss Basketball in Maine in 1994.