| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 January 1980 Ireland |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Sacred Heart School (Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland) |
| College | Saint Joseph's (1998–2002) |
| Position | Forward |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| 2003–2012 | Saint Joseph's (assistant) |
| 2012–2018 | Saint Joseph's (associate HC) |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Susan Maria Moran (born January 1980) [1] is a former Irish basketball player. As of 2015, she was a coach with the Saint Joseph's Hawks women's basketball team. [2] Moran, who was inducted into the Philadelphia Big 5 and Basketball Ireland "halls of fame" in 2009 and 2019 respectively, [3] [4] has been described by John Riordan of the Irish Examiner as "probably the greatest female basketballer Ireland has produced". [5]
Originally from Kilbeggan, County Westmeath in Ireland, [6] [7] her father was a member of the Westmeath county football team in the 1960s. [8] [9] Later moving to Tullamore, County Offaly, [6] [7] Susan Moran attended Sacred Heart Secondary School in Tullamore, [5] and led the school's basketball team to the national Under 19 School's Cup. [4] [10] In the 1998 finals, she scored a game-high of 52 points. [11]
Having been scouted by several US colleges, [12] Moran was recruited in 1998 by St. Joseph's Philadelphia for their Division 1 NCAA basketball programme. [4] In January 1999, she scored a career-high of 26 points for St. Joseph's in an NCAA game against the George Washington Revolutionaries. [13]
During her four years at St. Joseph's, she led the team in both scoring and rebounding every year. In her final year, she was the fourth-highest scorer nationally within US college basketball, averaging 22.3 points. [14]
By the time of her departure from St. Joseph's, in 2002, Moran was the "all-time leading scorer" at the college. [15] [16] St. Joseph's subsequently "retired" her jersey number. [7] [17] Having previously been named "Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year", [18] she was inducted into the Philadelphia Big 5 "hall of fame" in 2009 and the St. Joseph's University "athletic hall of fame" in 2010. [3] [19]
In 2002, Moran signed a free agent contract with New York Liberty in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and was placed on injured-reserve list. [20] [21] [22] This made her the first (and as of 2025 the only) [23] Irish-born player contracted by a WNBA team. [24] [25]
Moran subsequently played professionally in basketball leagues in Spain, Australia and New Zealand. [26] In the latter two, she won each league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. [19]
Moran made her senior debut for the Ireland women's national basketball team at the age of 16. [27] She played internationally in several competitions, including the World Student Games. [4]
In 2019, Susan Moran was entered as a member of Basketball Ireland's Hall of Fame. [4] Together with Siobhán Caffrey, Moran was one of the first two women inducted into the Hall of Fame. [28]
As of 2015, Moran was an associate head coach at St. Joseph's Philadelphia, [2] having been promoted to the role in 2012. [29] Later known by her married name, Susan Lavin, [14] [30] she became director of player development at Saint Joseph's Philadelphia in 2019. [31]
Susan Moran, who grew up in Kilbeggan before moving to Tullamore and later to Philadelphia, is to be inducted into the Irish Basketball Hall of Fame
Youngest daughter of former Kilbeggan and Westmeath footballer Martin, Susan made her name on the basketball court with Sacred Heart School, Tullamore in the late 1990s
[Moran] was voted best ever female Irish player in 2015. Her father Martin played football for Kilbeggan and Westmeath in the 1960s
Susan Moran scored a career-high 26 points, including the final 5 points, to help St. Joseph's upset 25th-ranked George Washington in Philadelphia
[Moran] became a star as a player at the Philadelphia University before graduating in 2002. She was the all-time leading scorer in Saint Joe's basketball history
Susan Moran, the all-time scoring leader at St. Joseph's
When Susan left St Joseph's University, they retired her number 10 jersey and inducted her into the Hall of Fame
[As of March 2025] Susan Moran remains the only Irish woman drafted in the WNBA. The New York Liberty selected her in the second round of the 2002 draft
The first Irish woman to be contracted by a WNBA club
The Irish international also played professionally in Spain, New Zealand and Australia and went on to coach in the game
She [Moran] made her Irish senior debut when she was just 16
O'Connor will be inducted into the Basketball Ireland Hall of Fame along with [..] Susan Lavin (nee Moran) and Liam McHale on Saturday, May 11 [2019]