Jenna Eckleberry recently completed her eighth season as the Shepherd head women's basketball coach.
Shepherd posted a record-setting 25-8 overall mark with a 16-6 record in conference play in 2021-22. Shepherd's 25 wins set a program single-season record. The Rams upset PSAC Tournament Champion Gannon in the first round of regional play before dropping a close contest to eventual national champion Glenville State. Additionally, Abby Beeman led NCAA II in assists (8.1) and gained numerous All-American honors.
The Rams went 2-0 in 2020-21 in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shepherd posted a 21-9 mark with a 14-8 conference record in 2019-20 in its first season of competition in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Sydney Clayton and Abby Beeman each gained first team All-PSAC East honors, while Marley McLaughlin was a second team selection. Beeman also garnered PSAC East Freshman of the Year honors.
The Rams posted an 11-18 mark in 2018-19 and senior guard Kari Lankford led NCAA II in assists with an 8.1 average.
Eckleberry led the Rams to a 15-15 overall mark with a 10-12 record in conference play in 2017-18. Additionally, Morgan Arden became the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,995 points and was the first player in program history to gain All-Region honors when she was named a second team D2CCA All-Atlantic Region Team selection.
Shepherd won five of its last seven games to post a 15-17 overall record with an 11-11 conference mark in 2016-17. Senior Cara Mason set a school single-season record with 182 assists en route to first team All-MEC honors.
In her first season at Shepherd Eckleberry led the Rams to a 22-10 overall mark and a share of the MEC title with a 17-5 record in conference play. She also guided the Rams to their second NCAA II regional appearance where the Rams upset 11th-ranked Indiana (Pa.) in first round action. Eckleberry directed a remarkable turnaround for a team that won just four games the season before. Eckelberry garnered MEC Coach of the Year, MEC Women's Sports Coach of the Year, All-J.A.Y. Coach of the Year and BennettRank.com D2 Women's basketball Coach of the Year honors.
Prior to coming to Shepherd, Eckleberry spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Fairmont State University. Fairmont State has recorded a 139-69 mark (.668) over that period and had a winning season in each of her seven years with the program. The Falcons won three conference titles and made three NCAA postseason appearances over that period.
Eckleberry helped mentor 2012 WVIAC Player of the Year, Atlantic Region Player of the Year, and Second Team All-American Kaitlyn Snyder. Snyder was also a first team All-Region choice as a senior and was the program's all-time leading scorer.
Eckleberry played three seasons at Fairmont State after transferring from NCAA Division I Robert Morris. She helped lead the Falcons their first NCAA Postseason appearance in her first season. As a junior she ranked eighth in assists per game (6.2) and while her 180 assists were the fifth most in program history. As a senior she ranked seventh in the country in assists per game (6.7) and gained honorable mention All-WVIAC honors. Eckleberry led the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.81) that year and set a school record with 17 assists against West Chester. Her 411 career assists are the sixth most in school history. A 2007 Fairmont State graduate, Eckelberry was named the Colebank Award winner as the school's top female senior athlete.
