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Ferne Labati took the Seton Hill women's basketball program to heights it had not seen before her arrival on the hill.
Labati posted a 117-73 record at Seton Hill in her seven seasons. Her 2009-2010 team made the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In 2012-13, Labati led the Griffins to their first-ever appearance in the WVIAC Tournament Championship game. While at Seton Hill, Labati coached 13 All WVIAC team selections. She won her 500th game during the 2009-2010 season and was named the WVIAC Coach of the Year following the 2010-2011 season.
Off the court, Labati's teams at Seton Hill shined academically. In her final five seasons, the team was named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Academic Top 25 Honor Roll. The team also earned the YWCA of Westmoreland County's Sports Team of the Year and Labati was named the YWCA of Westmoreland County's Coach of the Year.
Labati began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Immaculata College in 1976. Her first head coaching experience was at Trenton State University, where she led the program to the Division III National Tournament and the Division III Elite Eight in their first year of NCAA Championship play. After five years at Trenton, Labati took over the head coaching position at Farleigh Dickinson for four seasons before moving on to the University of Miami, FL. Labati led Miami to their first NCAA Tournament bid in 1989 and guided Miami to back-to-back Big East Regular Season and Conference Championships in 1992 and 1993. Over her 33-year coaching career, Labati amassed a 556-399 record. She has also received many honors during her coaching career, including the 1992 WBCA/Converse National Coach of the Year and the 1992 Big East Coach of the Year. In 2004, Labati was inducted into the University of Miami Athletic Hall of Fame and was named WBCA/Russell Regional Coach of the Year. Labati was part of the 2015 ACC Women's Basketball Legends Class and was a 2011 Camden County Sport Hall of Fame inductee.
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