Sarah Behn, the Elizabeth F. Turner ’98 Coaching Chair for Women’s Basketball, completed her sixth season as the head coach at Brown University in 2019-20, having taken over the reins of the program as the ninth head coach in team history on May 21, 2014.
In 2018-19, Brown featured three active 1,000-point scorers for the first time in program history in Shayna Mehta ’19, Justine Gaziano ’20, and Erika Steeves ’19. Behn guided the Bears’ Class of 2019 – including Mehta, Steeves, Taylor Will, and Mary Butler – to become the highest scoring class in program history with 4,306 points. Mehta finished her career second at Brown in career scoring (1,785 points) and as the Bears’ all-time leader in 3-pointers made (261).
The 2019-20 season saw Gaziano finish her career with 1,818 career points, ranking second all-time at Brown and 10th all-time in Ivy League history. In the Brown record books, Gaziano ranks third in career field goals (651), third in career 3-pointers (209), and fifth in career free throws (307). McKenna Dale ’21 increased her production during Ivy League play, ranking third in the conference in points per game (17.0).
During the 2017-18 season, Behn and the Bears won their second straight Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament title and began the year with a program-best 12-1 start. The Bears finished above .500 for the third straight year with a 15-12 overall record and set program records for points against a Division I opponent (102) and for single-season team free throw percentage (.752). Both Mehta and Gaziano earned All-Ivy honors for the second straight year while Mehta became Brown’s 20th 1,000-point scorer.
In 2016-17, Behn guided Brown to an appearance in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament and to a spot in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, gaining the program’s first-ever win in a national postseason tournament. Brown set single-season program records for games played (30), points (2,169), field goals made (779), 3-pointers made (226), and free throw percentage (.739) while winning the inaugural Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament.
Behn led the Bears to their first sweep of the state of Rhode Island’s three Division I basketball programs in program history in 2015-16 as the Bears notched a 12-2 non-conference record, the team’s most non-league wins since 1975. She guided Mehta to become the unanimous Ivy League Rookie of the Year while Jordin Alexander ’16 earned All-Ivy honors and became Brown’s 19th 1,000-point scorer.
In her first season at Brown, Behn guided the Bears to finish second in the Ivy League in scoring (65.5 points per game) and first in the conference in steals (10.1 per game). She coached a pair of All-Ivy players in Sophie Bikofsky ’15 and Alexander with Bikofsky concluding her career as Brown’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals made (222). Under her tutelage, the Bears recorded their first road sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth since Feb. 26-27, 1993.
Behn’s father, Barry, was a two-time letterwinner on the Brown basketball team from 1960-62.
The Foxboro, Mass., native joined Brown after spending three seasons (2011-14) as the head coach of UMass Lowell, where she guided the Riverhawks’ transition from Division II to Division I play in 2013-14.
Behn compiled UMass Lowell’s best record in over 10 seasons during the 2012-13 campaign, posting 18 wins and a 15-7 record in Northeast-10 play. Behn’s up-tempo offense helped pace the Riverhawks to an 81.5 points-per-game scoring average, good for second overall in the national Division II rankings. She mentored Division II national leading scorer, Bianca Simmons, as the senior topped the rankings with 28.2 points-per-game in 2012-13.
Prior to her stint in Lowell, Behn spent seven seasons as head coach of her alma mater, Foxboro High School, where she led the Warriors to MIAA Tournament appearances in six of those seven years. Behn earned her first collegiate head coaching position at Framingham State (1997-2000), before moving onto Franklin Pierce for two seasons (2000-02). At Framingham, Behn revitalized a struggling program into a MASCAC contender, while also guiding the Rams’ women’s soccer club to the 1999 MASCAC title and first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
In 1994, she established the Sarah Behn Basketball Camp, where over 25,000 young men and women have honed their basketball skills over the previous 20 years.
As a player, Behn starred at Boston College from 1989-93, totaling 2,523 points as the program’s all-time leading scorer, while becoming the Eagles’ only four-time Big East All-Star selection. The Big East Rookie of the Year selection in 1989-90, Behn was inducted into the BC Hall of Fame in 1998, and was the first BC female student-athlete to have her uniform number retired, as her No. 33 was raised into the Conte Forum rafters in 2003.
After graduating, Behn played one season professionally in Ettlebruck, Luxembourg, posting 35.0 points per game to lead the Central European League.
Behn’s 2,562 points at Foxboro High stood as a state record at the time and still currently ranks in the top-10 career scoring performances in Massachusetts high school basketball history.
Behn has four children, twins Jack and Joey, Teddy, and Gracie.
The Sarah Behn File
Postseason Appearances at Brown
Ivy League Tournament (1): 2017
Women’s Basketball Invitational (1): 2017
Award Winners at Brown
Ivy League Rookie of the Year (1): Shayna Mehta (2016)
All-Ivy (4): Sophie Bikofsky (2015), Jordin Alexander (2015, 2016), Shayna Mehta (2017, 2018, 2019), Justine Gaziano (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Ivy League All-Tournament (2): Shayna Mehta (2017), Erika Steeves (2017)
| Behn as a Head Coach |
| Years |
School |
| 2014-20 |
Brown University |
| 2011-14 |
UMass Lowell |
| 2004-11 |
Foxboro High School |
| 2000-02 |
Franklin Pierce |
| 1997-2000 |
Framingham St. |
| Behn's Record at Brown |
| Year |
Overall Record |
Ivy Record |
Ivy Finish |
| 2014-15 |
10-18 |
4-10 |
Seventh |
| 2015-16 |
15-13 |
3-11 |
Seventh |
| 2016-17 |
17-13 |
7-7 |
Fourth |
| 2017-18 |
15-12 |
3-11 |
Sixth |
| 2018-19 |
9-21 |
1-13 |
Eighth |
| 2019-20 |
8-19 |
2-12 |
Eighth |
| Totals |
74-96 |
20-64 |
|
| Behn's NCAA Record |
| Year |
School |
Record |
Record at School |
| 1997-98 |
Framingham St. |
6-19 |
|
| 1998-99 |
Framingham St. |
12-12 |
|
| 1999-2000 |
Framingham St. |
16-9 |
34-40 |
| 2000-01 |
Franklin Pierce |
8-18 |
|
| 2001-02 |
Franklin Pierce |
13-17 |
21-35 |
| 2011-12 |
UMass Lowell |
11-16 |
|
| 2012-13 |
UMass Lowell |
18-9 |
|
| 2013-14 |
UMass Lowell |
5-23 |
34-48 |
| 2014-15 |
Brown |
10-18 |
|
| 2015-16 |
Brown |
15-13 |
|
| 2016-17 |
Brown |
17-13 |
|
| 2017-18 |
Brown |
15-12 |
|
| 2018-19 |
Brown |
9-21 |
|
| 2019-20 |
Brown |
8-19 |
74-96 |
| Totals |
14 Years |
163-219 |
.427 |
