Gail Striegler enters her seventh season at the helm of the LIU Brooklyn women’s basketball team in 2014-15, having put together an impressive stretch of three seasons from 2009-12. Striegler's unit in 2011-12 won 21 games, and over the three seasons, won 62 games, the most over a three-year span in program history.

Using a high-tempo brand of basketball, LIU went 11-1 in its non-conference schedule in 2011-12, defeating two teams from the Colonial Athletic Association (Drexel and William & Mary) and a pair from the Atlantic 10 (Charlotte and La Salle). Perhaps the biggest win, however, came at the Peppermill Holiday Classic in late December.

After defeating host Nevada handily in the opening round, Striegler led the Blackbirds to a thrilling 64-63 win over previously unbeaten Oklahoma State in the title game. The Cowgirls, a member of the Big XII conference, would go on to win 22 games and take home the Postseason WNIT crown at the end of March.

Striegler guided 2012 graduate Ashley Palmer to a record-setting career, putting her in a position to score a school-record 2,044 points. Palmer closed her four years in downtown Brooklyn as one of only two players in Northeast Conference history to score 2,000 points and record 1,000 rebounds in a career.

The first recruit that Striegler nabbed as the head coach at LIU Brooklyn, Palmer's classmate Kiara Evans, also made waves in her three years at the school. Evans, a transfer from Louisville, was a three-year starter and accumulated 448 assists to rank first in school history.
 
The prior year, Striegler led LIU Brooklyn to 19 wins and an 11-7 record in the ultra-competitive Northeast Conference. The victory total -- tied for the fourth-most in single-season school history -- gave the Blackbirds 41 triumphs over two seasons, the second-most for a two-year stretch in program history.
 
After inheriting a depleted roster for her inaugural season, Striegler engineered a dramatic turnaround in her second trip through the Northeast Conference. Following a nine-win campaign, she guided an upstart Blackbirds team to a 22-10 finish for an 11-game turnaround and a trip to the NEC championship contest. The 22 victories tied for the second-highest win total in Long Island history and the team completely reversed its conference record from the previous season, going 14-4 in 2009-10.
 
Striegler led the short-staffed Blackbirds to a 9-20 record in her first season in Brooklyn. Playing with as few as seven active players for most of the season, the team was involved in eight losses that were decided by two points or less. Striegler guided a team that showed remarkable grit and determination and played tougher than its record showed.
 
Striegler came to Brooklyn from Georgia State, where she spent the 2007-08 season as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, bringing in a recruiting class that was nationally ranked by the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Prior to her stint at Georgia State, Striegler spent eight seasons as the head coach at the University of Central Florida, leading the Knights to three consecutive Atlantic Sun championships from 2003-2005. 
 
In her eight years at the helm of UCF, Striegler compiled a 106-128 record. After taking on a rebuilding project, she posted four seasons of over 15 victories, including two 19-win campaigns.  
 
She was named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year on two occasions – 2003 and 2005. Striegler and the Knights jumped from the Atlantic Sun to Conference USA in 2005-06. Her team posted a nationally-televised win over Texas-El Paso in front of a school-record crowd to celebrate that inaugural season. Several of her players earned postseason honors, including all-conference and all-tournament accolades. 
 
Striegler’s teams also found success in the classroom throughout her tenure. Her 2005-06 squad was selected to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Honor Roll. Striegler’s student-athletes were also members of UCF’s Scholar-Athlete lists and conference all-academic teams.
 
UCF captured a third consecutive regular-season first-place finish and top tournament seed with a 16-4 league record en route to a 19-10 overall mark in 2004-05. That season, the Knights finished ninth in the nation in blocked shots per game. 
 
That followed a 17-13 campaign in 2003-04 and a 19-11 season in 2002-03 that ignited the three-year run. Striegler’s 2001-02 team was 17-13 and ranked 20th in the nation in three-point shooting percentage and blocks per game.  
 
A native of Fayetteville, Ark., Striegler spent five years at Stephen F. Austin as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. During her time at Stephen F. Austin, the Ladyjacks advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1996. 
 
A highly-respected recruiter, Striegler’s 1998 recruiting class was ranked 13th by Women’s Basketball Journal and Blue Chip Report, while her 1997 class was ranked 17th by the Blue Chip Report. She also signed and coached numerous All-Americans while at Stephen F. Austin. 
 
Prior to her time at Stephen F. Austin, Striegler was the top assistant coach on the staff at Northwestern State for three seasons. During her time there, the Lady Demons amassed a 65-16 mark, earned a WNIT bid in 1992 and compiled three consecutive 20-win seasons. 
 
Striegler began her coaching career in 1990 at Arkansas as a graduate assistant where she took part in on-court workouts as well as on-campus recruiting and public relations. There, she was part of a team that posted a 28-4 record en route to winning the Southwest Conference regular season and tournament championships and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. 
 
As a student-athlete, Striegler was a member of the Central Arkansas women’s basketball team, earning All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference honors in 1988-89. She was inducted into the Central Arkansas Hall of Fame in the fall of 2006.  
 
Always aware of community and commitment, she has volunteered with the March of Dimes, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs, Hoops for Scholars and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  
 
Striegler, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from Central Arkansas and a Master of Science degree in the same discipline from Arkansas, resides in Brooklyn, N.Y.