HAYWARD, Calif. — Shanele Stires is in her fifth season as women's basketball head coach at Cal State East Bay.

Stires was a collegiate basketball star at Kansas State, where she scored 1,344 career points, grabbed 701 career rebounds and earned All-America honorable mention and First-Team All-Big Eight honors, while also finishing as runner-up in Conference Player of the Year voting as a senior. She left the school ranked fifth all-time in career rebounds and sixth all-time in scoring.

Following her collegiate career, Stires played professional basketball for both the American Basketball League (ABL) and WNBA. She helped the Columbus Quest win two ABA championships before joining the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. During the WNBA offseason, Stires also played professionally in Greece, Portugal and Sweden. 

The Pioneers head coach recently shared her thoughts on Women's History Month.

"It's so important for young girls to remember where they have come from and to recognize that there is still along way to go in the march toward equality," said Stires. "Having a national month of recognition is the first step in the journey toward that end."