The search for a replacement for former Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland may have narrowed yesterday, as a potential candidate filled another university's opening.

Former Lady Lions basketball star Suzie McConnell Serio, who played under Portland from 1985-88, was named head coach of the Duquesne women's basketball team yesterday. She said she "had conversations" with Penn State about filling the job vacated last month, but said Duquesne was clearly the perfect fit.

As of March 30, Duquesne athletic director Greg Amodio said McConnell Serio was not on the list of three names under consideration for the Duquesne job. She contacted Duquesne about the job shortly afterward and interviewed with the Duquesne selection committee April 4, before officially accepting the position yesterday.

"It was an incredible opportunity for me to get into college coaching, a great opportunity here in Pittsburgh," McConnell Serio said. "I met with Duquesne, and it was just a perfect fit for me as far as where they are and where they want to go. I'm excited for the challenge and the opportunity."

Although McConnell Serio was widely regarded as a possible replacement to fill Portland's position, no one in Penn State's athletic department acknowledged that she was under consideration for the job.

"Initially, there was interest in the Penn State job, but the more I pursued, it seemed almost as a perception of being a coach [at Penn State]," she said. "It was the media's perception; it was everyone else's perception."

She made the decision to coach at Duquesne with her family in mind, saying she didn't want to make her family, which just moved back to Pittsburgh in the past year, move again. McConnell Serio lives in Upper St. Clair, a Pittsburgh suburb about 30 minutes from Duquesne's downtown campus.

A native of Pittsburgh, McConnell Serio coached basketball at Oakland Catholic, a Pittsburgh high school, for 13 years, winning three PIAA Class AAA titles. She then coached the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA for two years, leading the team to its first two playoff appearances, and was named the 2004 WNBA coach of the year. This job will be her first position coaching at the collegiate level.

McConnell Serio set the men's and women's NCAA record in assists as a Lady Lion with 1,307. She is a two-time Olympic medal winner and spent three years playing for the Cleveland Rockers of the WNBA (1998-2000).

When former Duquesne women's basketball coach Dan Durkin first resigned, McConnell Serio did not immediately contact Duquesne about the position. She said it was clear to her from the very beginning of the discussions that Duquesne was the right choice.

"It just felt right," McConnell Serio said. "Greg [Amodio] is an athletic director with a lot of energy, a great vision. I was very comfortable with him. I felt within our first 10 minutes of the meeting like he was someone I could work for."