Kam Gissendanner enters her first season at La Salle in 2017-18 after joining the women’s basketball staff this summer.
Gissendanner comes to La Salle after five seasons as the head coach at Division III La Roche College in Pittsburgh. She led the Redhawks to five AMCC Championships, five NCAA Tournament appearances and a 116-22 overall record during her tenure. The Clairton, Pa. native was named the 2015-16 Advocates for Athletic Equity Division III Coach of the Year.
“Words can’t express how happy I am to embark on this new journey,” Gissendanner said. “Coach Williams is a class act and to be able to learn from one of the best in the game is an honor.”
Gissendanner coached two AMCC Players of the Year (Jessica Pitts, Sabrina McLin), five AMCC Defensive Players of the Year, and 16 AMCC All-Conference performers. Her 2016-17 team set the school record for conference wins with a perfect 18-0 record in the AMCC, earning Gissendanner AMCC Coach of the Year honors.
“We’re very fortunate to have Kam and Khadijah join our staff, they’re great people and they’re going to represent the university very well,” said Williams. “Kam has already been a successful head coach at the college level and she was All-Conference at Penn State while Khadijah was All-Conference at Rutgers. They also both played in the WNBA and professionally overseas.”
Gissendanner began her coaching career at St. Francis University (Pa.) from 2009-2011, where she helped lead the Red Flashes to two NCAA Tournament appearances and two NEC Championships.
After an outstanding career at Penn State, Gissendanner played with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008. The Clairton, Pa. native also spent a season in Norway’s Kvinnenligaen League, where she led to the league in scoring on the way to MVP honors. Gissendanner also played in Slovakia’s Cassovia League.
