"We want to thank Linda and Susan for their contributions to this organization," Embry said in a statement. "They both played an important role in launching the Rockers and the WNBA. At this time, we feel it is in the best interest of the organization to move forward in a new direction."

Hill-MacDonald could not be reached for comment immediately.

Although the Rockers finished the season on a high note, handing the Eastern Conference champion New York Liberty a 66-56 loss, Cleveland ended the season with a league-worst 7-25 record, losing eight of its last nine games. The Rockers, which finished last in the six-team Eastern Conference, 12 games behind New York, lost more games this season than in Hill-MacDonald's previous two seasons combined.

Hill-MacDonald, who leaves Cleveland with a 42-48 career coaching record in the WNBA, led Cleveland to the East Conference championship in 1998 and the team to its first playoff appearance in its two-year history in the WNBA. The Rockers ended their 1998 campaign with a 20-10 mark -- the second best in the league that year -- after being eliminated by Phoenix in the semifinals.

In 1997, Hill-MacDonald guided Cleveland to a 15-13 record, setting a WNBA record with eight consecutive wins along the way.

Hill-MacDonald has more than 15 years of coaching experience, and previously spent seven years as head coach of the University of Minnesota, where she guided the Gophers to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1994. She also has coached at Temple, where she was twice named the Big 5 coach of the year.

A three-sport letter winner at West Chester University, Hill-MacDonald led the school's basketball team to a National Collegiate Invitational Championship. She was inducted into West Chester's Women's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.