After more than two decades on the Westminster College women’s basketball sidelines, Rosanne Scott will step away from coaching and transition to the position of Assistant Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), Director of Athletics Jason Lener announced Wednesday.
The move is effective immediately.
Scott has led the women’s basketball program for the last 24 years, recording 279 career victories. She guided Westminster to three 20-win seasons and berths in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in 2005 and 2007. The 2005 team won the program’s first and only Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, while the 2007 team set a school record for wins with a 22-7 record before qualifying for the Division III playoffs.
Hired in April 2002 at just 24 years old, Scott was the youngest collegiate basketball coach in the country at any level. In her second season, she was named PAC Coach of the Year after leading Westminster to the PAC Championship Tournament final.
“Coaching this program has been the most rewarding experience of my life. I am grateful for all my assistants, alumnae and players who poured their hearts into our program. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together, but even more proud of the relationships we’ve built. While stepping away from the head coaching position is bittersweet, I’m excited for the opportunity to continue serving our department and our student-athletes in my new position as Assistant Director of Athletics. I will miss my team, but I know the program is in great hands with Coach Sefcik. I would like to thank President Richardson and Jason Lener for this opportunity to continue helping our athletic programs and impacting the lives of our student-athletes,” said Scott.
Scott coached some of the most accomplished players in program history during her 24-year tenure, including Erica Tallo (2001-05), Desiree Sterling (2003-07), Emilee Ackerman (2004-08) and Natalie Murrio (2019-24), four of Westminster’s top five all-time scorers.
Scott’s teams also excelled in the classroom, earning Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Team Academic Honor Roll distinction for the fourth time in the last six seasons in July.
“Coach Scott has been an incredibly important part of Westminster Athletics for more than two decades, and her impact on this department goes far beyond her coaching responsibilities. She has built genuine relationships with generations of our student-athletes, and I’m excited that this new role will allow her to spend even more time engaging with and supporting students across all our programs. Her knowledge of our history, our people and the traditions that make Westminster special is invaluable, and I am fortunate to be able to retain that experience as she steps into this new leadership position. As Assistant Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator, Coach Scott will provide leadership, support and a familiar connection for our student-athletes as we move forward,” said Lener.
Megan Sefcik, who has been a member of Scott’s staff since the 2019-20 season, will take over as interim head coach. An Austintown, Ohio, native, she had a distinguished playing career at the University of Akron, appearing in 107 games over her five-year career.
Sefcik finished with 1,059 points in her career with the Zips, totaling a career-best 17.2 points per game as a senior. A two-time team captain, she was a Second Team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) selection following her senior season. A three-time Academic All-MAC honoree, Sefcik graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in 2018. She earned a Master of Education (M.Ed.) from Westminster in 2021.
“I want to thank President Richardson and Jason Lener for this opportunity. I have been blessed to be part of this program over the last seven years as an assistant, and being able to learn from someone like Coach Scott has been invaluable in preparing me for this opportunity. Although the transition was unexpected, I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue working with our student-athletes and this program,” said Sefcik.
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