CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah University head women's basketball coach JR Payne has announced the hiring of Rachel Ziemann as an assistant coach for the Thunderbirds.

"We are very excited to have another Ziemann on our staff!" stated Payne who enters her second season at the helm of the Thunderbirds. "Rachael has had a tremendous amount of success both on and off the court.  She was an outstanding player and a fiery competitor in college and that determination has enabled her to have a very successful coaching career thus far. She and Bianca will be responsible for the development of our guards and I have no doubt that we will make great strides in that department.  Rachael will also have a big hand in our recruiting efforts and game scouting."

Ziemann, the twin sister of current SUU assistant coach Bianca, joins the Thunderbird coaching staff after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach for Central Washington University.

Ziemann was a two-time All-West Coast Conference guard during her four years at Loyola Marymount University, helping the Lions to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004. The Huntington Beach, Calif. native was a four-time Student-Athlete Award winner at LMU and named the team's most valuable player her junior season. She also served as the team captain her senior year and currently shares the LMU record for most 3-point shots made in a single-game with seven. Following her career at LMU, Ziemann was invited to tryout for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA and later played professionally for The Netherlands "Amazone" in 2006.

Ziemann earned her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a minor in Economics from LMU in 2006 and later earned her Master's of Science in Athletic Administration from Central Washington in 2009.