Kamela Gissendanner
Kamela Teresa Gissendanner (born July 27, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player and the head coach of the La Roche Redhawks women's basketball team. She was born in Clairton, Pennsylvania, and starred at Clairton High School, setting a school scoring record of 2,703 points and helping her team win state titles in 2001 and 2002. She played college basketball at NC State for one year (2003–04) before transferring to Penn State, where she played from 2004–2008 and earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2008.
Gissendanner went undrafted in 2008 but signed with the Los Angeles Sparks, appearing in two games that season. She also played professionally overseas, leading the Norwegian league in scoring and earning MVP honors, and had stints in Slovakia and Puerto Rico.
Her coaching career began as an assistant at Saint Francis (PA) from 2009–2011. She then led La Roche as head coach from 2012–2017, posting a 116–22 record with five AMCC titles and five NCAA appearances, and earning AMCC Coach of the Year in 2013, 2018, 2019, and 2023. After a season as an assistant at La Salle in 2017–18, she returned to La Roche as head coach in 2018 and has guided the team to AMCC championships in 2020, 2022, and 2023 and NCAA appearances in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:47 (CET).