Sahar Nusseibeh (pronounced new-SAY-bay) recently completed her third season as the head coach of the Canisius women’s basketball program.
Nusseibeh was officially named the 10th head coach in program history on July 23, 2021. A long-time assistant coach with 12 years of Division I coaching experience, Nusseibeh took over the Canisius program after spending the previous two seasons at Miami University where she also held the title of defensive coordinator.
Nusseibeh’s third season at the helm (2023-24) was a historic one for the program, as the Blue and Gold finished with 17 wins, the most since the 2008-09 campaign and the first season with double-digit victories since the 2018-19 campaign. Canisius’ 11 MAAC wins serve as the most for the program since the 2008-09 campaign, when Canisius won 14 games during conference play and advanced to the WNIT. The 2023-24 season saw Canisius lead the MAAC in 3-point field goal percentage at 33.8 percent (229-of-677), rank second in the MAAC for defensive rebounds per game (11.4) and tie the program record for 3-pointers made in a game with 15 at Binghamton on Dec. 8. As a team, the Griffs finished fifth after being picked ninth in the 2023-24 MAAC Preseason poll.
From Nov. 30 through Dec. 21, Nusseibeh guided the Griffs to five consecutive road wins, marking the first five-game winning streak for Canisius since the 2015-16 season and five-game road win streak since the 2008-09 campaign.
In the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Women's Basketball Championship tournament, Nusseibeh led the Blue and Gold to a 58-55 win over Manhattan, advancing the team to the semifinal round of the conference's postseason tournament for the first time since the 2009 event in Albany, N.Y. In that season, a pair Griffs earned all-league honors, as guard Athina Lexa was tabbed the Sixth Player of the Year, becoming the second Canisius player to ever earn the honor, while forward Sisi Eleko was named a unanimous All-MAAC First Team selection and selected for the All-MAAC Championship Team.
Individually in 2023-24, Eleko set the program record for rebounds by a sophomore and ranked second all-time for rebounds in a single season with 328. Eleko led the MAAC in both points per game (15.9) and rebounds per game (10.6). Lexa, meanwhile, ranked top-15 in the MAAC for both points per-game (11.7) and total points (362).
During her second season at the helm (2022-23), Nusseibeh helped Canisius earn two all-conference accolades as Dani Haskell was named to the All-MAAC Third Team and Eleko was tabbed to the All-MAAC Rookie Team. The 2022-23 season saw the Griffs finish the season ranked second in the MAAC and 84th nationally for free-throw percentage at 73.9 percent. The Blue and Gold also saw their overall and conference win total increase by three compared to the 2021-22 season.
Individually, Eleko finished the season with 96 field goals made, which is the fifth most all-time by a freshman in program history. The Montreal, Quebec, native also made 53 free-throws, tying her with former Griff forward Rachel Decker for the fifth-most made free throws in a season by a freshman.
In her first season on Main Street, Nusseibeh led the squad to a MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship opening round win, becoming the first No. 11 seed to win a game in the tournament’s history. Two Golden Griffins also received all-conference accolades as Haskell was named an All-MAAC Third Team honoree and Lexa was a unanimous selection to the All-MAAC Rookie Team.
The 2021-22 campaign saw the Griffs set a program record for 3-pointers made in a contest with 15 in an 81-78 win versus Siena on Jan. 29, 2022. The team was also one 3-pointer shy of tying the program record for 3-pointers made, set during the 2008-09 season (252). Canisius led the MAAC and ranked 28th in the nation with its 251 three-point field goals made.
Individually, freshman Rhay Porter’s 43 blocks on the year were the most by a Canisius freshman in the Division I era.
As the defensive coordinator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, Nusseibeh was responsible for developing and implementing all aspects of team and individual defensive concepts. She also worked on game planning the team’s defensive strategies and was in charge of all defensive play calls and in-game adjustments during timeouts and in-game action. Prior to joining the Redhawks’ staff, she spent three seasons (2016-19) as the associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and defensive coordinator at Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y.
During her time at Manhattan, Nusseibeh played a key role in recruiting and coaching five All-MAAC selections, two MAAC All-Rookie Team honorees and the 2019 MAAC Women’s Defensive Player of the Year. One of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) “Thirty Under 30” honorees in 2016, Nusseibeh led the Jaspers’ defensive efforts which saw Manhattan rank among the top-five in the MAAC in scoring defense, blocked shots and turnovers forced in three straight seasons. In her final year at Manhattan, the Jaspers ranked 17th nationally in scoring defense (56.3 points per game allowed), while also placing in the top-100 nationally in field goal percentage defense (75th), steals per game (76th), blocked shots per game (63rd) and turnovers forced (79th).
Nusseibeh was a part of the Bowling Green coaching staff for three seasons (2013-16) and helped lead the Falcons to a 2013-14 Mid-American Conference regular-season crown after the team went 30-5 overall and 17-1 in league play. She recruited and coached five All-MAC honorees, including an All-America selection, and she played a key role in helping Bowling Green earn three-straight WBCA Top-25 Team Academic Awards.
Nusseibeh began her collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Cincinnati, where she was the video coordinator, academic liaison and assisted in coaching the post players. She then spent two seasons at Holy Cross as an assistant coach where she also handled video operations and worked with the posts.
Prior to beginning her collegiate coaching career, Nusseibeh completed internships with the WNBA's Atlanta Dream (2007) and Washington Mystics (2009), and worked with USA Basketball on preparing the U19 World University Games teams for competitions in Thailand and Serbia.
A member of the 2006 Patriot League All-Rookie Team, Nusseibeh played 116 career games at American, where she won a pair of league regular-season titles as a member of the Eagles’ program. She was a member of the program when it made a pair of WNIT appearances, the first two postseason berths in program history.
Nusseibeh earned her undergraduate degree in international relations/international business from American in 2009 and then went on to earn her MBA from Cincinnati in 2011.
