LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Siena Women's Basketball program and head coach Jim Jabir are excited to announce the hiring of former Siena Saints standout Heather Stec '09 as an assistant coach. Stec makes her way back to Loudonville from Army West Point, were she spent the last three seasons. 
 
"I'm very pleased to have Heather back at Siena," said Jabir. "She has a great work ethic, she's great with the team, and she knows what Siena is about. We aspire to get back to where we were when she played here."
 
A five-year member of the Saints from 2004 through 2009, Stec averaged a team-leading 13.9 points per game her senior season which led to an All-MAAC Second Team selection. Known for her presence in the post, Stec also averaged 6.8 rebounds over her career, totaling up 682 career rebounds which ranks 12^th all-time. She also was successful in the classroom, earning three MAAC All-Academic Team awards. She would also serve as a team captain her senior year in 2008-09.
 
"I'm so appreciative of the opportunity from Coach Jabir to return to my second home, Siena College," said Stec. "As I got to know the team and what brought them here, it was obvious that my favorite part about this community hasn't changed. The people here are what makes Siena a special place and I'm thrilled to be back working with great people. I'm especially excited about the staff Coach Jabir has put together and we're ready to get this team in a position to win the MAAC Championship."
 
Before returning to Siena, Stec spent the last three seasons on staff an assistant coach at Army West Point. Under her guidance, two separate Black Knights received All-Patriot League recognition in Madison Hovren (2018-19) and Alisa Fallon (2019-20, 2020-21). Hovren was tabbed to the league's first team 19.1 points per game and 13.1 rebounds per contest. Her 13.1 rebounds ranked fifth in the nation. Fallon was tabbed to the third in back-to-back seasons after averaging 12.1 points per contest in her sophomore year. She was one of just three underclassmen to earn all-league nods. Additionally, in 2019-20 Hope Brown was named to the league's all-freshman team, while Lauren Lithgow earned those honors this past season.
 
Previous to joining the West Point coaching staff, Stec spent the previous four seasons as an assistant at Merrimack. In her last season at Merrimack, Stec helped the Warriors claim 15 victories and compile the program's first NE10 winning record (11-10) since the 2004-05 campaign. The team had a strong defensive season, ranking 16th in the nation in scoring defense, holding the opposition to 57.3 points per contest. During her four years at Merrimack, the Warriors made two NE10 Tournament appearances and Stec saw seven of her players earn all-conference honors, including the 2018 conference rookie of the year.
 
Prior to arriving at Merrimack, Stec spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Springfield College, where she helped the team achieve a 13-win turnaround from 2012-13 to 2013-14 and become the lowest seed to ever win the NEWMAC Tournament. The tournament victory was the program's first since 2006 and the team advanced to the NCAA Tournament. 
 
Stec also had a stint as an assistant coach at Cazenovia College for the 2011-12 season as well as with several international teams in the Netherlands and Denmark from 2009-11.
 
Following her collegiate career at Siena, she went overseas and played two seasons professionally in Europe, including stops with the Horsholm 79ers (Denmark) and Stol Grasshoppers (Netherlands).
 
With the 79ers, she was tabbed the Player of the Year, Forward of the Year, Import of the Year and received first team all-league honors en route to a national championship. As a key cog on the Grasshoppers, Stec was named the Defensive Player of the Year and earned first team all-league recognition.
 
Stec graduated from Siena in 2009 with a bachelor's in Biology before completing her Master's in Athletic Counseling at Springfield in 2014.