Heading into 2013-2014, Lorie Khalil will be in her 3rd season as head coach. Khalil was hired during the summer of 2011 and was charged with turning the Arcadia University Women’s Basketball program into a contender in one of the nations most competitive women's basketball conferences, the MAC's Commonwealth Conference.
After completing her 2nd season Khalil has proved she is on a mission to build the Knights into a conference and regional powerhouse. With not a single senior on the roster and starting four freshman majority of the season, the Knights managed to post a 10-15 record, the best record since the 2005-2006 season. With the commitment of a talented incoming class and the experience of returning players, the Knights, who will have one senior on their squad will look to make a playoff push in the 2013-2014 season.
From 2005 and until her hire at Arcadia, Khalil headed the women’s program at Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ. At the young age of 24, Khalil took over a program that was struggling both on the court and in the classroom. Under her leadership, the Cyclones compiled four straight winning seasons, along with post-season play in each of those seasons, including the program’s first Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) berth following the 2008-09 campaign. During the 2008-09 (81.5 PPG) and 2009-10 (83 PPG) seasons, her teams finished as the top scoring offense in NCAA Division III and then finished 13th in 2010-11 campaign. She has developed nine All-Conference players, including Centenary’s all-time leaders in rebounding, field goals, assists and steals along with three 1,000-point scorers. Khalil, who served as an assistant coach at Centenary from 2003-2005, recorded a win-loss mark of 81-72 as the head coach.
While these numbers are certainly impressive, the awards Khalil is most proud of stem from the academic achievements her student-athletes strive for. From 2009 through 2011, Khalil’s players earned 29 Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) All-Academic honors (3.2 GPA). Her Cyclones were recognized two consecutive seasons by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for having the second highest team GPA in the nation out of 435 Division III institutions.
Her teams have also serviced the community in a variety of ventures, including “Day for David”, a pediatric cancer fundraiser that helped to raise $1,200 toward St. Baldrick’s Cancer Foundation. Her teams have also provided service for Philadelphia’s Ronald McDonald House, the Hackettstown Halloween Parade, the Centenary Women’s Center Breast Cancer Run and Lance Armstrong’s National Live Strong Day.
Khalil is a 2003 graduate of Moravian College, where she was a two-year member of the women’s basketball team, playing under head coach Mary Beth Spirk, who ranks in the top 25 in victories among active Division III coaches. Prior to transferring to Moravian, Khalil originally attended Delaware Valley College where she also played two seasons for its women’s program under current Aggies head coach Laura Hogan. While at DVC, she was a participant on their 2000-01 ECAC Mid-Atlantic Region Championship team. Before her college basketball career, she was a very successful three-sport athlete at Catasauqua High School, in Catasauqua, Pa.
Khalil has been coaching at various basketball camps for the past ten years, including the University of Connecticut, University of Maryland, Villanova University, WNBA New York Liberty camp as well as running her own girls' basketball camp in northwest New Jersey. Khalil has been featured in the Garden State Women's Magazine and has also filmed in the 2011 women's basketball inspirational movie "The Mighty Macs".
She also serves as the University’s Assistant Sports Information Director and advisor to Arcadia's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
