Heather Macy is preparing for her third season as the head coach for women's basketball at Francis Marion University.
Her two-year coaching record at Francis Marion is 48-14 and her four-year career mark is 88-34.
This past year (2008-09), she directed the Patriots to a 27-5 record, a No. 14 national ranking, a second-straight Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship, and a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance where the team advanced to the round of Sweet Sixteen. Also for the second year in a row, Francis Marion led Division II in scoring offense (88.1 ppg) and steals per game (19.4). It marked the third time in three seasons that a Macy coached team led the nation in scoring offense. She also earned conference Coach of the Year honors for a third straight season (twice in the Peach Belt Conference).
In her first year (2007-08), she guided Francis Marion to a 21-9 record and was named the Peach Belt's Coach of the Year. After inheriting a 6-22 squad, the 21-9 mark equaled the largest won-loss turn-around in NCAA Division II last year, and the eighth-best ever. The Patriots captured a share of the Peach Belt Conference regular-season title and earned a bid to the NCAA Division II national tournament, where the program served as the host for the South Atlantic Regional. FMU led the nation in scoring offense (89.3 ppg) and steals per game (18.5 per game).
Macy was named to head the program on March 21, 2007, and became the 10th head coach in the storied history of the Francis Marion program, and the youngest new coach since Sherri Tynes took over the coaching reigns as a 27-year-old in 1988.
The Hamptonville, N.C., native came to Francis Marion after two seasons as head coach at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, N.C. In 2006-07, she took the Falcons to a 26-5 record, the CVAC regular-season and tournament championships, and an appearance in the NCAA Division II national tournament. The team's record represented the fourth-best turnaround in Division II. She was named the CVAC Coach of the Year, and her squad led the nation in scoring offense (83.0 ppg).
In her first season at Pfeiffer, her squad produced a 14-15 mark after she inherited only four returnees from an 8-20 squad. Her Pfeiffer team represented the United States in the Barbados vs. USA Friendship Basketball Tour during the summer of 2006.
Her coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant coach at two Division I institutions, University of Maryland-Baltimore County and High Point University, and a pair of Division II schools, Lenoir-Rhyne College, and Catawba College. In her six seasons as an assistant, her teams' combined records were 84-60.
She served as head coach for a USA Athletes International squad that toured Australia in 2004 and won a gold medal with a 7-0 mark at the Australian Youth Games.
She is founder of the highly-successful Focused 50 Basketball Camp, which is now held at FMU. She was a featured speaker at the 2008 South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association clinic in North Charleston, will speak at the 2009 Triad Coaches Clinic in Winston-Salem, N.C., and has been invited to speak at the NIKE Coaching Clinic in Myrtle Beach in April 2010. She also holds an annual coaches clinic at Francis Marion in October.
Macy received a B.S. degree in sport and exercise studies (cum laude) from Greensboro College, where she was a four-year letterwinner on the basketball court. She ended her career 11th on The Pride's career scoring list (707 points) and in the top 10 for assists (207). In 2002, she earned a master's degree in human performance and recreation from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Upon her graduation, she quickly moved into the coaching ranks, accepting the position at Catawba.
The Francis Marion program has an all-time record of 723-349 in 36 seasons. The Patriots have captured two national championships, the 1982 AIAW Division II title and the 1986 NAIA title, and also advanced to the 1998 NCAA Division II Final Four. The program made five straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances between 1997 and 2001, before making back-to-back trips to the Big Dance in 2008 and 2009.
| Year | Record | Conf. Record | Finish | NCAAs | Highlights | |
| 2005-06 | 14-15 | 11-9 | 5th in Regular Season | |||
| 2006-07 | 26-5 | 18-2 | CVAC Regular-Season & Tournament Champs | Yes | CVAC Coach of the Year | |
| 2007-08 | 21-9 | 13-7 | PBC Regular-Season Champs | Yes | PBC Coach of the Year | |
| 2008-09 | 27-5 | 17-3 | PBC Regular-Season Champs | Yes | PBC Coach of the Year |
Tiffany D. Tucker enters her first season on the Francis Marion University bench as an assistant coach.
Her primary responsibilities with the Patriots will include recruiting, on-floor coaching, individual player workouts, and pre- and post-season workouts.
"We are thrilled to have Tiffany on our staff," said FMU head coach Heather Macy. "Her positive energy, work ethic, and recruiting ability will assist us in taking this program another step up on the national level. She is goal oriented and driven for success - a perfect fit for FMU."
Tucker comes to Francis Marion after one season as an assistant coach at Division I Radford University.
The Petersburg, Va., native is a 2006 graduate of the University of North Carolina, where she earned a B.A. degree in sports and business ethics. She played four seasons on Lady Tar Heels basketball team for former FMU head coach Sylvia Hatchell. She was a member of two Atlantic Coast Conference championship squads in 2004 and 2005, and her teams went to the NCAA Tournament all four years, including a 2004 trip to the Sweet Sixteen and a 2005 appearance in the Elite Eight.
During her playing career, the 6-5 Tucker was awarded the UNC Coaches Award twice, in 2002 and 2004. She was also the first recipient of the UNC at Chapel Hill Osterneck Award for Inspiration after recovering from a serious knee injury suffered during her freshman season.
Prior to coaching at Radford, she spent one season as an assistant at Allegheny College. Following her playing career, she served one year as an assistant varsity coach at Carrboro (N.C.) High School.
During her college playing career, Tucker served as a camp counselor and post development coach at the Sylvia Hatchell Basketball Camp, and later filled the capacity of Assistant Director of Summer Camps for the same summer event.
Off the basketball court, she has experience working as a mental health counselor and a child care counselor.
She is a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Black Coaches and Administrators Association. She recently graduated from the National Association for Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators/Higher Education Resource Services (NACWAA/HERS) Institute.
She attended the 2009 WBCA Convention, as well as the 2009 Villa 7 event.
Tucker is a graduate of Matoaca High School, where she earned All-Region, All-District, and All-Tri-City honors. She was also named a U.S. Army Reserves Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
"After reading a quote by one of the FMU players, ‘hard work, dedication and passion for the game define us;' I was sold," Tucker said. "I am very excited to work with Coach Macy. I love her passion for the game and she is by far one of the best motivators I have ever been associated with. We both have strong, contagious and energetic personalities that will fuel our team!
"I hope to bring my NCAA experience to a team that has the
skill, talent and desire to continue to win. My goal is to
compliment and support Coach Macy in continuing to build on their
success and to win a NCAA National Championship."
Carol Schnepp Sciaretta of Conway begins her second season as an assistant coach with the Francis Marion University women's basketball program.
Her primary responsibilities include recruiting, on-floor coaching, individual player workouts, pre- and post-season workouts, and helping in the area of academic support for team members.
During her first year (2008-09) at Francis Marion, the Patriots posted a 27-5 record, earned a No. 14 national ranking, led the nation in scoring offense, captured the Peach Belt Conference regular-season title, and advanced to the round of Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA II Tournament.
Sciaretta came to FMU from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., where she served as an assistant coach for three seasons. She aided in the rebuilding process for a program that plays in a very tough NCAA Division III conference. The Knights posted a three-year record of 29-46.
While coaching, she also earned her master's degree (M.Ed. and Elementary Education certification) from Arcadia in 2007. She also administered the honors math program (grades 4-8) at the Blue Ribbon School of St. Genevieve School for the 2007-08 academic year.
She is a 2003 graduate of The Catholic University of America, where she earned a B.A. degree in business (marketing). A four-year starter on the basketball team, she ended her playing career as the school's third-leading all-time scorer with 1,404 points. She twice earned All-Capitol Athletic Conference recognition, was a four-time All-CAC Academic Team honoree, and served as the Cardinals' team captain for two seasons.
Sciaretta previously coached in the Oreland (Pa.) Basketball Summer (Youth) League and has taken part in the Buzz Braman Offensive Skills Camp in Columbia, Md.
