A member of the Owls' 2007 National Championship team, Stephanie Hiriak Lund '10 enters her 10th season as assistant women's basketball coach at SCSU in 2025-26.
The 2023-24 team finished the season with an overall record of 19-13. The Owls made an impressive run in the NE10 Tournament, as they advanced to the NE10 Championship game for the first time since 2012. Southern fell to Bentley in the championship; however, they finished the season with 11 straight games of holding a team under 60 points. Katie Williamson was named to the NE10 All-Conference Second Team.
The 2022-23 team had a overall record of 17-11, and made it to the NE10 Tournament Quarterfinals, where they lost to Assumption. Zoë Amalbert was named to the NE10 All-Conference Second Team and to the NE10 Academic All-Conference Team. In addition, Amalbert, Delaney Connors, Alexa Kellner and Katie Williamson were all named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
The 2021-22 team finished the season with a 13-14 record, as they advanced all the way to the NE10 Tournament Semifinals for the first time since the 2017-18 season and lost a heartbreaker to Stonehill College. Jessica Fressle was named to the NE10 All-Conference Second Team and to the NE10 All-Championship Team.
The 2020-21 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2019-20 season saw the Owls win 10 games. Two Owls garnered year-end honors from the conference as Imani Wheeler took home NE10 Defensive Player of the Year, while Alexa Kellner was tabbed to the All-Rookie team. In addition, Wheeler and Jessica Fressle were named First Team All-ECAC. Fressle was also named to the NE10 Women's Basketball Academic All-Conference team.
The 2018-19 squad reached the NE10 quarterfinals, but fell to Merrimack, who moved up to Division I the following season. Two Owls were tabbed with NE10 year-end honors as Kiana Steinauer earned First Team and Amanda Pfohl was an All-Conference Honorable Mention. Steinauer also garnered D2CCA All-America and All-East Region honors, in addition to being featured on NCAA.com's "Starting Five" three times during the season.
The Owls 2017-18 season, the Owls won 21 games - including a win over Division I Rhode Island - and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Abby Hurlbert earned All-Conference and All-ECAC honors, while Kiana Steinauer was also recognized for her play by the NE10. Hurlbert and Murad were also selected to the NE10 Women's Basketball All-Academic Team.
During her first season with the club, the Owls won 19 games and qualified for the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. SCSU followed that up with a 12-win campaign in 2016-17 and reached the quarterfinals of the NE10 Tournament.
Hiriak joined the Owls with four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Bridgeport to her credit (2010-14). Over that stretch, the Purple Knights won 50 games and made two appearances in the East Coast Conference Tournament.
She also spent one season as the head girls’ basketball coach at Foran (Conn.) in Milford.
A native of Wallingford, Conn. and former scholastic standout at Sheehan High, Hiriak was a four-year member of the squad while an undergraduate at Southern (2005-09). She served as a team captain as a senior and played in 31 games for the Owls during their run to the 2007 NCAA title.
Hiriak also served as the athletics business manager at Bridgeport and has additional coaching experience at the scholastic level at the Hopkins School in New Haven.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in recreation and leisure from SCSU. Her and her husband, Justin, were married in May, 2017.
