The University of Scranton women’s basketball team, led by head coach Ben O’Brien, has announced their coaching staff for the 2022-23 campaign.

Cathy Genco, Jess Rini and Canio Cianci will serve as assistant coaches for the Lady Royals this upcoming season. Both Genco and Rini will enter their first season with the program, while Cianci has previously spent time with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs at Scranton.

“We have assembled a talented group of coaches with unique experiences who will positively impact our players and program. I am very excited for the opportunity to work with them,” O’Brien said.

Genco has previously served as the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Scranton Prep and helped lead the Classics to two District Championships during her tenure. She also has 20 plus years of youth coaching experience with various youth and AAU teams.

Genco played college basketball at Fordham University and earned both a Bachelor’s Degree and MBA from Fordham.

Rini begins her first season with the Lady Royals following previous coaching stints at Misericordia and Dickinson. During her time with the Cougars, she helped guide the program to a 23-6 record in 2018-19 and a Top 25 ranking in both major polls as well as a program record 16 game winning streak. Additionally, Rini has served as the Head Coach and Player Development Coach for the NEPA Elite AAU program for the past two seasons.

While at Misericordia, she also earned her MBA.

In her playing career, Rini was a three-time All-Skyline Conference honoree at Mount Saint Mary and scored over 1,000 points for the Knights. She was also a three-time team captain.

Cianci, a 1968 graduate of The University of Scranton, has 41 years of coaching experience at various levels including 24 years at Scranton as an assistant with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs. He has helped lead both teams to multiple conference championships as well as Final Four appearances.

https://athletics.scranton.edu/sports/wbkb/2022-23/releases/20220926mhnjb8