Shelby Lyman was announced as UWRF's head women's basketball coach in April of 2023 after serving as the interim head coach during the 2022-23 season. She spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach for the Falcons.
Lyman was hired by former UWRF head coach Blake Dudonis prior to the 2019-20 season, and oversaw all scouting and guard development, in addition to recruiting, game planning, and all other things associated with the program. Under her tutelage, the Falcon guard unit saw several impressive performances and improvements. In 2019-20, UWRF cracked the top five in both made three-pointers and three-point attempts in the Falcons’ record book. The 2021-22 Falcons broke the program record for most made three-pointers in a season, totaling 206, which was also the fourth highest mark in WIAC history.
During the 2025-26 season, Lyman led the Falcons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016 and first WIAC Tournament semifinal appearance since 2017. Throughout the seaosn, UWRF earned multiple wins over nationally-ranked opponents during the season. Following the season, Zoey Buchan was named a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American, becoming just the second All-American selection in program history.
Throughout her tenure as head coach, UWRF has totaled five First-Team All-WIAC honorees: Macy Nilsen (2023-24), Olivia Hoerl (2025), and Zoey Buchan (2025-26).
Prior to UWRF, Lyman was an assistant coach at her alma mater, Cornell University, for two years. She helped with on and off campus recruiting, player development, alumni development, and day-to-day office tasks.
Before serving with the Big Red women she had a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Division III powerhouse St. John Fisher College, helping the Cardinals to an Empire 8 championship in 2015 and a pair of NCAA DIII Tournament appearances.
In addition to her sideline experience with the Cardinals, Lyman also served as an assistant coach with the Empire Dragons AAU program for three years and worked as a personal basketball coach for individual and group training sessions.
Lyman, a native of Snohomish, Wash., who graduated from Cornell University in 2014, was one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in Cornell history, Lyman became the only freshman to play a full 40 minutes in a season opener. From there, she went on to set the Cornell record for games started (109) and ranked second all-time in career games played (111). She also finished her Big Red career ranked third all-time in 3-point field goals made (144).
Lyman still ranks among the top 20 in Cornell history in assists (14th – 219), steals (14th – 122), and minutes played (13th – 3096). She finished her career with 718 career points.
Lyman resides in River Falls, WI.
| Year |
W-L |
Pct. |
WIAC W-L |
Place |
Pct. |
| 2026 |
16-12 |
.571 |
8-6 |
5th |
.571 |
| 2025 |
14-12 |
.538 |
6-8 |
6th |
.429 |
| 2024 |
14-12 |
.538 |
5-9 |
5th |
.357 |
| 2023 |
14-11 |
.560 |
4-10 |
6th |
.286 |
| Totals |
58-47 |
.552 |
23-33 |
|
.411 |
