She helped Weirton Madonna win a girls' basketball state championship and also lettered in tennis and track at the school.
[4] Source[5] Bernabei-McNamee began her coaching career at Eastern Kentucky in 1997 under Larry Joe Inman.
[6] At the time, she was the youngest college head coach in the U.S.[3] Under Bernabei-McNamee, West Virginia Wesleyan went 18–10 (15–6 WVIAC).
[8] Bernabei-McNamee joined Mike Carey's staff as assistant coach at West Virginia in 2001.
[8] For the 2008–09 season, Bernabei-McNamee rejoined Carey at West Virginia as assistant coach.