Moon Township, Pa. – RMU head women's basketball coach
Charlie Buscaglia announced Wednesday that
Sarah Fowler has joined the staff as an assistant coach, while
Scott Schneider '11 and
Kema Dashiell '18 have each earned promotions. Schneider has been elevated to associate head coach, while Dashiell has been promoted to assistant coach.
Fowler joins the RMU coaching staff after spending the last two seasons as the director of basketball operations at Saint Joseph's. She returned to Hawk Hill after spending the 2018-19 campaign in the same capacity at Colgate, helping the Raiders post their most victories in over a decade.
"Coach Fowler comes from a background of being a stellar student-athlete, followed by some great experience on her alma mater's coaching staff," Buscaglia said. "If you look at her accomplishments both on the court and in the classroom, you will see a ton of success. I'm very excited to have her join our staff and feel she will serve our program very well."
A four-year letterwinner for the Hawks, Fowler, a native of Elizabethtown, Pa., became just the second student-athlete in program history to accumulate career totals of 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 100 blocks. She concluded her career with totals of 1,064 points, 636 rebounds and 113 rejections and was a two-time All-Big 5 honoree while also claiming the Big 5 Most Improved Player accolade twice.
Fowler earned a Bachelor of Science from Saint Joseph's in 2016 in interdisciplinary health services and was also honored with the Saint Joseph's Class of 1950 Award the same year. Prior to get into coaching, Fowler played professionally for two years in Ireland and Greece.
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Schneider, a native of Great Bend, Kansas, has been with the Colonials for 11 years, with the 2021-22 campaign his first as associate head coach. He started as a student assistant from 2009-11, served as a graduate assistant from 2012-14 and spent the last seven years as an assistant coach.
"Coach Schneider has worked very hard for RMU women's basketball over a number of years," Buscaglia said. "I believe in rewarding hard work and a loyal commitment to the program. This is a very exciting announcement for someone that has earned this moment and continues to work hard every day to serve our program."
During Schneider's tenure as an assistant coach with the Colonials, RMU has appeared in the NEC Tournament final five times, claiming three championships (2016, 2017, 2019). Since the 2014-15 season when Schneider was named an assistant coach, the Colonials have compiled an overall record of 133-78 (.630) and became the first NEC program to claim four consecutive NEC regular-season championships since Saint Francis U turned the trick from 2001 to 2005.
Schneider earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from RMU in 2011, graduating Magna Cum Laude, while also earning a Master of Science in organizational leadership in 2014. He and his wife, Dee, have a son, Theodore.
Dashiell spent the 2020-21 campaign with the Colonials as director of basketball operations but has now been elevated into the role of assistant coach. During her five-year career as a student-athlete with the Colonials from 2014-19, Dashiell helped RMU earn three Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championships (2017, 2018, 2019) as well as three NEC Tournament crowns (2016, 2017, 2019).
"I had no hesitation to elevate Coach Dashiell," Buscaglia said. "It's important to understand that she did an outstanding job as a director of operations and video coordinator. However, she has some strong qualities to be able to instruct on the court, knowledge of how we scout and develop meaningful relationships with our future prospects. Coach Dashiell has grown so much in our program over the years with us. It all started off as a model student-athlete and building a strong foundation of a work ethic. She is earning everything, and I'm very proud of her efforts."
During her playing career at RMU, Dashiell, a native of Salisbury, Md., helped the Colonials earn 106 victories, which includes 20-win seasons in three consecutive years (2016-19). She is one of 34 student-athletes in program history at RMU to win three NEC Tournament championships. Dashiell owns three degrees from RMU, including a Bachelor of Science in clinical psychology and a Master of Science in organizational leadership, both of which she earned in 2018. In 2020 she also earned a Master of Science in counseling psychology.
Led by Buscaglia, who enters his sixth season as head coach of the Colonials in 2021-22 as well as his 19th year overall with the program, RMU opens its season Tuesday, Nov. 9, at St. Bonaventure. The Colonials christen their home slate Saturday, Nov. 13, against Akron at the UPMC Events Center.
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