Women's Basketball

Sue Syljebeck enters her 20th season as head coach of the Siena Heights women’s basketball program. She is also the athletic director at SHU, she started as the interim Athletic Director in May 2019 before dropping the “interim” tag on January 1, 2020.

Syljebeck has the most wins as a coach in program history with a career record of 359-228. Under coach Syljebeck, the Saints have claimed their first six NAIA Tournament berths; their most recent appearance happened in the 2022-23 season.

While ranking first all-time in wins, Syljebeck holds the highest winning percentage in SHU history at this point in her career with a mark of .612. She is also the most successful women’s hoops coach in league play, boasting a 211-128 (.622) record in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC).

The 2019-20 campaign ended with a 27-6 overall record. The 27 wins on the year tied the 1978-79 Saints women for the most wins in a season. It was also the eighth 20-win season in Saint women’s basketball history, seven of those seasons have come during the Syljebeck era. SHU was 17-3 in WHAC conference play--the best league mark in program history--to earn the second seed in the conference tournament. 

Syljebeck has coached NAIA First Team All-Americans, April Watson and Peyton Banks (claimed 2^nd Team All-America in 2020-21). She also coached third-team All-American Demi Russell. Six Saint women’s basketball players have been Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America honorable mention: Nicole Coffey, Laura Panozzo, Grace Howrigon, Sierra Calhoun, Sha'kyia Parker and Peyton Banks—all were coached by Syljebeck. Banks was named the WHAC Player of the Year in consecutive seasons (2019-20,  2020-21, 2021-22), a first for the Saints women’s hoops program. Watson, a 2017 SHU graduate, went on to play professionally for TGN Spain, based in Tarragona, Spain. 

Syljebeck came to Siena Heights from NCAA Division I school Nicholls State (La.). At Nicholls State, she was the associate head coach before being promoted to interim head coach during the 2003-04 campaign. Syljebeck has also coached at Southern Illinois and New Orleans (La.). 

Syljebeck graduated from New Orleans in 1997 with her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Performance and Health Promotion. After a successful playing career, she then went on to receive her Master of Science degree in Physical Education from Southern Illinois in 2000.

Sue Syljebeck's Coaching Record at SHU