Niagara's Kendra Faustin Named 2010 The Rock MAAC Coach of the Year
MAAC Sports
Albany, N.Y. - Niagara University head women's basketball coach Kendra Faustin has been selected as the 2010 The Rock MAAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, announced today by the league office.
Faustin led the Purple Eagles to a 9-9 record in the MAAC (12-17 overall) and the fifth-seed at the 2010 Citizens Bank MAAC Championship. It is the first time since 2004-05 that Niagara has finished .500 or better in conference play. The 12 wins are the most under Faustin and the most for the Purple Eagles since 2006-07. Niagara finished league play with a 1-17 record and a 3-28 overall mark a year ago.
Faustin came to Niagara prior to the 2007-08 season after spending three years as the head assistant coach at Canisius College. In her three seasons, Canisius posted an overall record of 55-35, including a 36-18 mark in conference play. She helped lead the Golden Griffins to the 2005 MAAC Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to arriving in Western New York, Faustin spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Division II Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich. She was a part of the Hillsdale coaching staff that guided the Chargers to a school-best 23-6 record and a second-straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division crown after the 2002-03 campaign. Faustin began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Gannon University in Erie, Pa., where the Knights posted a 20-8 record and earned a third-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
A four-year starter and letterwinner at Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Faustin was selected the Lakers' Co-Most Valuable Player after the 2000-01 season and also served as a team co-captain in her senior campaign.
A native of Hartland, Mich., Faustin earned her bachelor's degree in business administration from Lake Superior State in 2001 and a master's degree in sport administration at Canisius in 2006. She and her husband, R.J., reside in Buffalo, N.Y.