Suzie McConnell-Serio (born July 29, 1966) is a former American

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

coach and player. She was the head coach for the women's basketball team at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

from 2013 to 2018. In 2004, she was named WNBA Coach of the Year as coach of the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

. She was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 2008.

Career

Born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, McConnell-Serio attended

Seton-La Salle Catholic High School Seton LaSalle Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. In 2016, under the direction of former sc ...

, leading the Lady Rebels to the PIAA state championship in 1984. McConnell-Serio played college basketball at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. In four seasons at PSU (1984-85 through 1987–88), she helped the

Lady Lions The Penn State Lady Lions basketball team represents Pennsylvania State University and plays its home games in the Bryce Jordan Center. In 2013, the Lady Lions became just the 12th program in NCAA Division I history to reach 850 wins. Penn Stat ...

to a 95–33 record and four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. In the process, she was named the school's first First-Team All-American while setting NCAA Division I records for career assists (1,307), assists in a season (355 in 1987) and season assist average (11.8 in 1987). Her assist total and assist per game average led the nation in both 1986 & 1987. She also set the record for most career points by anyone with 1000+ assists at 1,897 points. In 2011,

Courtney Vandersloot Courtney Vandersloot (born February 8, 1989) is an American and Hungarian basketball point guard for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Sopron Basket in the Hungarian National Championship. The third s ...

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

passed her in number of assists in a single season with 367 in 2011, and number of career points with 1000+ assists with 2,073 points. As of the start of the 2017–18 season, she still holds the records for most career assists, most assists per game in a season (and most assists per game in a season by a sophomore and by a junior), and most career triple-doubles. She graduated from Penn State in 1988. She won the

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor shorter-than-average players who excelled on the court despite their size. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-la ...

in 1988. At the time, this award was given to the best women's basketball player in the country no taller than 5'6" (1.68 m); the height limit was later increased to 5'8" (1.73 m) before it was discontinued in 2013. She also ended her college career with seven career

triple-doubles In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: point (basketball), points, rebound (basketball), rebounds, assist (basketball), assists ...

, which at the time was an NCAA all-divisions women's record (later equaled by Louella Tomlinson of Saint Mary's). This record has since been broken by Oregon's

Sabrina Ionescu Sabrina Elaine Ionescu (born December 6, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. She is the NCAA all- ...

. Before joining the Minnesota Lynx, McConnell-Serio served as head coach of the girls basketball team at

Oakland Catholic High School Oakland Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic college preparatory school for girls, located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. It was established by Bishop Dona ...

in Pittsburgh for 13 years, from 1991 to 2003. During that time, her teams won 3 PIAA state championships (1993, 2001, 2003), were runners-up twice (2000-2002), and won five consecutive district championships (1999-2003). On December 17, 2002, she reached a coaching milestone with her 300th win. She finished her high school coaching career after the 2002–2003 season with a 321–86 record. McConnell-Serio also played in the WNBA. The former

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

played three seasons with the

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon Gu ...

(1998-2000). As a first-year player in 1998, she earned WNBA Newcomer of the Year and All-WNBA First Team honors after averaging 8.6 ppg and 6.4 apg (second in the league). She was a two-time winner of the

Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season, to the player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court—ethical behavior, fair ...

(1998 and 2000) and finished her professional career with averages of 6.4 ppg and 4.6 apg in 81 contests. In January 2003, McConnell-Serio returned to the WNBA as head coach of the

and took a team that finished 10–22 in the previous season to an 18–16 record and first-ever playoff appearance. One year later, McConnell-Serio took a team picked to finish last in the Western Conference by a number of preseason publications and made a return trip to the playoffs and in the process was named the 2004 WNBA Coach of the Year. The '04 Lynx, who earned a franchise-best #3 seed in the WNBA Western Conference, tied franchise records for wins (18), home victories (11) and road wins (7) all set in McConnell-Serio's first season. In addition, Minnesota enjoyed a franchise record six-game winning streak. However, the Lynx struggled in the 2005 and 2006 season, and McConnell-Serio resigned at mid-season on July 23, 2006. Prior to her professional playing career, McConnell-Serio won two

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medals. She was a member of a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

-winning U.S. women's basketball team in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, and earned a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. McConnell-Serio also won a

at the 1991

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

. She won the 2004

WNBA Coach of the Year Award The Women's National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season. The winner is selected at the end of regular season by a panel of sportswr ...

. In 1999, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' magazine named her one of the Top 50 Athletes of the Century in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. On April 13, 2007, McConnell-Serio was named the head coach at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

. On April 12, 2013, McConnell-Serio was named the head coach at the

. She was fired on April 5, 2018.

Penn State statistics

Source

Personal life

McConnell-Serio is married to Pete Serio, and they have four children, Peter, Jordan, Mandi, and Madison, who all have played basketball. McConnell-Serio is a member of the

. She was inducted into it on June 14, 2008, at the Bijou Theatre in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

. McConnell-Serio's brother, Tom, played two seasons at

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

and was the head coach for Saint Francis, Pennsylvania from 1992 to 1999 and has been an assistant coach at Wake Forest, Marquette, and Dayton as well as women's assistant coach at the University of Colorado with their sister, Kathy. Before becoming the current head coach of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania women's team, he served as an assistant at Old Dominion. McConnell-Serio's sister, Kathy, who was her teammate on the 1984 PIAA Championship team, is now her associate head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. She was previously the head coach at Tulsa (1999-05) and the University of Colorado (2006–10) before accepting a position as an assistant coach with the WNBA's Tulsa Shock. She was also an assistant coach at the University of Illinois (1996–99) and Rutgers (1994–95). Her first coaching job out of college was at the University of Pittsburgh as a recruiting coordinator during the 1991 season. She played in four NCAA Championships while at the University of Virginia. McConnell-Serio's brother, Tim, played at Waynesburg and has served as the boys' coach at Chartiers Valley from 1992 to 2018 and has won over 80 percent of his games while earning his 400th career win in 2010. In 2018, he moved to coach the Chartiers Valley Girls Basketball team. McConnell-Serio's sister, Maureen, played at the University of Pittsburgh, and her nephew, T.J., (Tim's son) was on the Duquesne men's basketball team for two seasons (2011 and 2012) before transferring to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He currently plays for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

Career statistics

Regular season

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1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 28 , , 28 , , 31.5 , , .455 , , .408 , , .729 , , 2.2 , , 6.4 , , 1.8 , , 0.2 , , 3.7 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 18 , , 28.4 , , .367 , , .333 , , .842 , , 2.4 , , 4.2 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 3.0 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 22.0 , , .414 , , .392 , , .760 , , 1.6 , , 3.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.2 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 3 years, 1 team , 78 , , 78 , , 26.9 , , .420 , , .382 , , .754 , , 2.0 , , 4.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 2.9 , , 6.7

Playoffs

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, 3 , , 3 , , 33.0 , , .500 , , .429 , , .667 , , 2.3 , , 5.0 , , 2.7 , , 0.3 , , 3.0 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 6 , , 24.5 , , .311 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , 4.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 2.7 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 2 years, 1 team , 9 , , 9 , , 27.3 , , .356 , , .279 , , .800 , , 2.3 , , 4.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.8 , , 6.4

Head coaching record (College)

Notes

External links

WNBA ProfileWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcconnell-Serio, Suzie 1966 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Pittsburgh Cleveland Rockers players Duquesne Dukes women's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Minnesota Lynx head coaches Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Penn State Lady Lions basketball players Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball coaches Point guards Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade United States women's national basketball team players

Career

Penn State statistics

Personal life

Career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record (College)

See also

Notes

External links