Western Pennsylvania has produced plenty of great basketball players over the years, but Kamela Gissendanner put together the type of basketball resume that deserves to be remembered.
She was a high school superstar who scored more than 2,700 points. She became an All-Big Ten player at Penn State. She reached the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks, played professionally overseas and then built another successful career as a college basketball coach.
And it all started in Clairton.
A Clairton Basketball Legend
Before Gissendanner became a Division I player or professional, she was dominating Western Pennsylvania basketball at Clairton High School.
From 2001 through 2003, Gissendanner was a three-time first-team All-State selection. She also earned Street & Smith honorable mention All-American recognition three times. She helped Clairton win consecutive WPIAL Class A championships in 2001 and 2002 and finished her high school career with 2,703 points, setting the school’s all-time scoring record.
Her talent wasn’t only recognized locally.
The All Star Girls Report rated Gissendanner as the No. 10 wing prospect in the country, and she earned Associated Press small-school Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2003. She also represented USA Basketball at the junior national-team level in 2002 and earned USA Today Junior All-American recognition.
For a player coming out of Clairton, Pennsylvania, the basketball world was becoming much bigger.
From NC State to Penn State
Gissendanner began her college career at NC State during the 2003–04 season before transferring back closer to home to Penn State.
After sitting out the 2004–05 season, she quickly established herself as one of the Lady Lions’ leading players. During the 2005–06 season, she averaged 14.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. She followed that by averaging 12.8 points during the 2006–07 season. As a senior in 2007–08, Gissendanner averaged 13.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference’s coaches and honorable mention recognition from the media.
She also earned her degree in rehabilitation services from Penn State.
But basketball wasn’t finished with her.
Making It to the WNBA
Gissendanner wasn’t selected in the 2008 WNBA Draft.
That didn’t stop her.
The Los Angeles Sparks signed her as a free agent in April 2008, giving the former Clairton star an opportunity at the highest level of women’s professional basketball. She ultimately appeared in two regular-season games for Los Angeles. The statistics may have been brief, but reaching a WNBA roster is an accomplishment very few basketball players ever experience.
A girl who grew up playing basketball in Clairton had made it to the WNBA.
Taking Her Game Overseas
Her professional career continued internationally.
Gissendanner played in Norway, Slovakia and Puerto Rico. Her season in Norway was particularly impressive, as she led the league in scoring and earned league MVP honors.
But eventually her basketball journey transitioned from playing the game to teaching it. And she proved to be just as successful on the sideline.
Building a Championship Program at La Roche
After serving as an assistant coach at Saint Francis, Gissendanner became the head women’s basketball coach at La Roche.
Her first run from 2012–13 through 2016–17 was dominant. Gissendanner compiled a 116–22 record, won five Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championships and took La Roche to five NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. She was named AMCC Coach of the Year in 2013 and received the 2015–16 Advocates for Athletic Equity Division III Coach of the Year award.
After spending the 2017–18 season as an assistant at La Salle, she returned to La Roche.
The winning continued.
Her Redhawks captured additional AMCC championships in 2020, 2022 and 2023 and returned to the NCAA Tournament each of those seasons. She added more AMCC Coach of the Year honors to an already impressive coaching résumé.
A New Chapter
In August 2025, Gissendanner was named the head women’s basketball coach at Saint Vincent College.
It’s another chapter in a basketball life that has already taken her from Clairton to major Division I basketball, the WNBA, professional basketball overseas and championship-winning college coaching.
But statistics and championships only tell part of someone’s story.
That’s why I wanted Kamela Gissendanner to tell the rest in her own words.
Q: You scored 2,703 points at Clairton and became one of the most accomplished players in Western Pennsylvania. When did you first realize you were different on the basketball court?
Gissendanner: I realized I was different on the court when I was beating grown men in the 8th grade down McKinley Park.
Q: Clairton is a small community, but you became one of the top-ranked wing players in the country. What did growing up in Clairton teach you that stayed with you throughout your career?
Gissendanner: Clairton is a unique place with a ton of great people. We are also known for some not-so-great things. I think the goal growing up was to always be able to go and venture out and spread my wings and know you can always come back. To live, to give back, to visit. I could always come back.
Q: You helped Clairton win back-to-back WPIAL championships in 2001 and 2002. Where do those championship teams rank among your favorite basketball memories?
Gissendanner: Those high school championships were some of my all-time favorite moments in my career. A bunch of 14-18-year-old girls brought the entire community together. I got a chance to play with and win with girls I grew up with. We gained and maintained organic relationships, and I am still friends with a majority of them to this day. Those were the best days!!!
Q: You played during an era when girls basketball didn’t receive anything close to the exposure it receives today. Do you ever wonder what your recruitment and high school career would have looked like with today’s social media, NIL and national coverage?
Gissendanner: I love the fact that I helped contribute to the growth of the women’s game. I played in the WNBA and college when not many were watching. To see where it has grown to is so admirable. If we had NIL back when I played, I would be set for life! Those women are blessed to have that opportunity. I would have had a huge bag!
Q: You started your college career at NC State before transferring to Penn State. What went into that decision, and what did you learn from that period of your life?
Gissendanner: I transferred in a time where it was taboo to leave your original school. My intent to transfer was all about fit. NC State’s system was much different from Penn State. I was a big guard that could shoot and post up. When I left NC State, I knew the fit had to be the priority and not the school’s name.
Q: Once you got on the court at Penn State, you immediately became one of the team’s leading scorers. What allowed you to make that transition and have success in the Big Ten?
Gissendanner: The Big Ten is known for having big guards. The ACC was a little more known for smaller guards that could be crafty with the ball. Penn State’s system fit me perfectly. It was also closer to home. My redshirt year was such a great year for me. It allowed me to learn and grow from some of the best.
Q: You weren’t selected in the 2008 WNBA Draft but still earned an opportunity with the Los Angeles Sparks. What do you remember about getting that call and realizing you had made it to the WNBA?
Gissendanner: Ahhhh, the call! Well, being 100% transparent, I fully thought my name would be called. Not only because of my ability, but because the head coach of the LA Sparks told me they would draft me. So to not hear my name called was a huge disappointment. All I know is I was driving home to Clairton from Penn State and Michael Cooper calls me. He said, “Kam! We wanted to draft you, but a trade happened so we had to draft a point guard instead. I would love for you to come to training camp as a free agent. I am really confident you can make the team!” That is all she wrote. I had an amazing training camp over the next six weeks and made the team as an undrafted free agent!
Q: What was the biggest difference between being a great college basketball player and stepping onto a court with WNBA players? Was there a moment when you thought, “This is a completely different level”?
Gissendanner: The level between college and the pros is actually insane. The physicality is the first thing. You are playing with grown women. They have kids. This is how they feed them. Everyone is great in the league! Not good, great! And the fact that people come from around the world to play in the WNBA — I mean, it is the elite of the elite.
Q: You eventually played professionally in Norway, Slovakia and Puerto Rico and led the Norwegian league in scoring while winning MVP. What was it like adjusting to basketball and everyday life in another country?
Gissendanner: I hated playing overseas. I am super close to my family, and overseas ripped my little heart out. I still stuck it out and did my thing, but it was not my favorite chapter of my playing career.
Q: Who is the best player you ever played against, at any level, and what made her so difficult to guard or compete against?
Gissendanner: The best player I have ever played against was hands down Tanisha Wright. The way she played defense made you want to walk off the court. She was going to kill you every night. She was smooth on offense, but that D was nastyyyy!!! I got to play against her every day at Penn State since she was my teammate.
Q: Who was the best teammate you ever played with, and what made her special?
Gissendanner: I have played with so many great teammates over my playing career. It’s really hard to name just one, so I won’t even try.
Q: When your playing career ended, was becoming a coach always the plan, or did coaching find you?
Gissendanner: Coaching kind of found me. I was on the beach in Miami — I had just gotten home from overseas — and one of my former college coaches called me about an open opportunity. I was ready for stability while still being close to the game. I took the opportunity and ran with it.
Q: You went 116–22 during your first five seasons as La Roche’s head coach and won five straight conference championships. When did you realize you might be just as talented at coaching basketball as you were at playing it?
Gissendanner: It’s still really crazy to me that I statistically have a better coaching career than I did as a player. I took little things from each coach I had along the way and added them to my bag. I also took what I didn’t like and made sure to never use those tactics as well. I am a really good communicator, I value relationships, and I am really good at pushing buttons, so coaching is it for me. It’s my career, and I’ll continue to do it until I can’t anymore.
Q: You’ve experienced basketball from almost every possible angle. Which accomplishment means the most to you today: the 2,703 high school points, the championships, playing at Penn State, reaching the WNBA, becoming an overseas MVP or winning championships as a coach?
Gissendanner: I have enjoyed each chapter of my story. I have an amazing village that helped me get to where I am today, starting with my mom and dad. Those two made it possible for me growing up. They saw something in me and made every investment they could. I have records, championships and elite experiences. I am just enjoying that I am able to share those things with my son and my players that I have been blessed with the opportunity to coach.
Q: Western Pennsylvania tends to celebrate its great male basketball players much more than its great female players. Do you feel your basketball career has received the recognition it deserves locally?
Gissendanner: I never did any of this for the recognition. I am more worried about how I make people feel on a daily basis. If I get honored or recognized, that’s great. If I don’t, I am only truly concerned with honoring God and making sure He knows I am using all of the abilities He has given me to the best of my ability.
Q: You’re now leading the women’s program at Saint Vincent. What attracted you to the opportunity, and what do you want your program to represent beyond wins and losses?
Gissendanner: Saint Vincent called me, and I was honored to answer the call. They didn’t want any other coach to run their program. It was just time. Time for new challenges, new scenery. I don’t ever want my career to get stale and always welcome new challenges.
Q: If the teenage Kamela Gissendanner walking through Clairton could see everything basketball would eventually bring into her life, what do you think she would say?
Gissendanner: That little orange ball allowed a girl from Clairton to reach every dream I could imagine. I saw the world. I made a lot of money. It has also brought some of the greatest people I know into my life. All from a ball.
Q: What are you most proud of about the woman you’ve become that has nothing to do with basketball?
Gissendanner: I am hands down most proud of my son, Kameron. He will be 10 in September, and his inside matches his outside. He is so smart, he is almost like a human encyclopedia. He has an amazing heart, and I am just proud of him and the mom he allows me to be.
Q: When everything is over and people in Western Pennsylvania talk about Kamela Gissendanner’s basketball legacy, what do you want them to remember?
Gissendanner: I just want to be known as one of the best. A complete dog that would rip your head off when on the court. At the same time, such a laid-back, fun, easygoing person off the court. The total package.