Now in her sixth season at Saint Louis University, Shimmy Gray-Miller has been committed to injecting passion and energy into Billiken women's basketball ever since she was introduced as the program's sixth head coach on April 19, 2005. A combination of consistent improvement, increased fan support and state-of-the-art facilities has Gray-Miller and her staff poised to drive the Billikens into the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Flint, Mich., native has guided Saint Louis on a steady climb in the A-10 standings the past three seasons. The Billikens' six conference victories and ninth-place finish last year were high marks for the program since SLU joined the league prior to the 2005-06 campaign.
Local fans acknowledged the continued improvement by showing up in record numbers at sparkling new Chaifetz Arena. The Bills enjoyed a 70 percent increase in attendance compared to 2007-08 and attracted the two largest crowds in program annals.
The 2008-09 postseason honors list provided more evidence of the program's ascension. Saint Louis produced two All-Conference performers for the first time in 20 years, with Theresa Lisch named to the first team and Amanda Kemezys garnering third-team recognition. In addition, Lisch became the first ESPN The Magazine first-team Academic All-American in program history, was chosen A-10 female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was voted to the Division I-AAA National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Scholar-Athlete team for the second consecutive year.
The Billikens' 12 wins last season included five road victories, tying the 2006-07 team for the most under Gray-Miller. Three of those road triumphs came at conference venues, the most during her tenure. At Chaifetz Arena, Saint Louis posted notable wins against Ball State, which defeated Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament first round, and St. Bonaventure, which reached the WNIT quarterfinals.
The 2007-08 season's 10 wins were not indicative of the competitive level reached by the Billikens as 14 of SLU's 30 games were decided by six or fewer points. The Bills enjoyed a strong finish in that category, winning four of their last six contests that concluded with a margin in the one- to six-point range. Gray-Miller's charges also tied the program's best seven-game conference start with a 4-3 mark, finishing that stretch with a 71-60 triumph over A-10 co-leader Charlotte.
The 2007-08 Billikens led the A-10 and were ranked 22nd nationally in free-throw percentage and, for a second consecutive season, set school records for free throws made and free-throw percentage. Lisch was named to the All-Conference third team, the NACDA Division 1-AAA Scholar-Athlete team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 7 second team.
Gray-Miller's second season, 2006-07, began with a five-game winning streak and brought the team's first road victory since the 2003-04 campaign and its first conference road win in four seasons. The Billikens qualified for the conference tournament after a three-year absence and upset No. 6 seed Richmond in the first round. No. 2 seed and eventual tournament champion Xavier edged SLU by a point in the quarterfinals.
The 2006-07 Bills led the A-10 in steals and were second in scoring. They set school records for points, free throws made, free-throw percentage and steals. Individually, Tyler McIlwraith was an ESPN The Magazine second-team Academic All-American, repeated as A-10 women's basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, made the NACDA Division 1-AAA Scholar-Athlete team and was an honorable mention All-Conference selection. Lisch was named to the A-10 All-Rookie team.
Gray-Miller's arrival at Saint Louis for the 2005-06 season coincided with the University's move to the Atlantic 10 Conference. Her first career victory was a 65-50 decision against Yale Nov. 25, 2005. She guided the Billikens to their first A-10 win on Jan. 15, 2006, a 59-54 triumph over Duquesne.
Despite having an inexperienced and undersized squad, Gray-Miller and her staff helped the Billikens rank in the top half of the conference in offensive rebounds, 3-point field goals made, steals, turnover margin and free-throw percentage. Several Billikens enjoyed standout performances that season including McIlwraith, who nearly tripled her career scoring average en route to earning second-team All-Conference plaudits.
Under Gray-Miller's tutelage, McIlwraith finished fourth in the A-10 in scoring average and reached the league's top 10 in four other categories. Rachel Diener and Marquita McFarland were in the top six in 3-point field goals made and offensive rebounds, respectively, while McFarland and Heather King ranked among the league's top 20 in rebounding.
Academic achievement and community service are high priorities for Gray-Miller. In addition to the national academic honors earned by McIlwraith and Lisch, numerous Billikens have been named to the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll. In the community, Gray-Miller and the Billikens have been involved with more than a dozen organizations since her arrival in St. Louis. The team and coaching staff annually perform hundreds of hours of community service, making Billiken women's basketball routinely one of the leading groups among nearly 200 SLU organizations in community service.
Prior to her arrival at SLU, Gray-Miller served two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Arizona. She helped guide the Wildcats to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids while coaching honorable mention All-Americans Shawntinice Polk and Dee Dee Wheeler, who was a 2005 second-round WNBA draft choice.
The 2004-05 team, which toppled Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 1 LSU, registered a 20-12 overall record and an 11-7 Pacific-10 Conference mark. In 2003-04, the Wildcats posted a 24-9 record, tied for the Pac-10 regular-season championship with a 14-4 slate and were runners-up in the conference tournament.
Gray-Miller also enjoyed a successful three-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Washington, where she helped lead the Huskies to two NCAA Tournament appearances and a WNIT berth. She coached seven All-Conference players, including 2002-03 Pac-10 Player of the Year Giuliana Mendiola, and saw Husky players earn Academic All-Conference accolades 19 times.
In 2000-01, Washington tied for the Pac-10 regular-season title and reached the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals by defeating Old Dominion, Florida and Oklahoma. The Huskies finished with the No. 14 national ranking and a 22-10 record. Washington registered 19 wins and reached the WNIT in 2001-02 before posting a 22-8 ledger and returning to the NCAA Tournament in 2002-03.
Gray-Miller worked as a volunteer coach for the WNBA's Seattle Storm in 2003 and spent the 1999-2000 season as an assistant coach at Bellevue (Wash.) Community College. In 2003, she earned the Seattle Parks and Recreation's Outstanding Dedication to the Youth of Seattle Award.
Gray-Miller graduated from the University of Michigan in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in sociology and a minor in law and criminology. She played basketball for the Wolverines, serving as team captain as a senior and winning the 1994 Swish Club Award for leadership and dedication. Gray-Miller still ranks among Michigan's career top 20 in total rebounds, rebounds per game and blocks.
In 1998-99, Gray-Miller played professional basketball for Olivais Futebol Clube, a first-division club team in Coimbra, Portugal. She also played with Athletes in Action for two seasons.
A graduate of Carman-Ainsworth High School in Flint, Gray-Miller was a Michigan All-State selection as a senior. She was inducted into the Carman-Ainsworth Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.
