After transferring from West Chester State College (now West Chester University),[2]: 195 Stanley played collegiate basketball at Immaculata College.[3] The women's basketball team played in six straight AIAW basketball tournament final fours from 1972 to 1977, five straight finals from 1972 to 1976. They won three consecutive national championships from 1972 to 1974. Among her teammates were future prominent women's coaches Theresa Grentz and Rene Portland. The team was featured for its 1970s accomplishments on a SportsCenter special[3] on March 23, 2008.
On January 26, 1975, she played in the first nationally televised women's intercollegiate basketball game. Facing Maryland at Cole Field House, Immaculata won 80–48.
On February 22, 1975, she played in the first women's basketball game played in Madison Square Garden. Immaculata beat Queens College 65–61.
The story of the basketball team was adapted into a movie, The Mighty Macs,[4] which was released in 2011. The 1972–1974 teams were announced on April 7, 2014, as part of the 2014 induction class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and were formally inducted as a team on August 8, 2014.[5] In 2022, Stanley and Theresa Grentz were inducted into the Naismith Hall for their subsequent accomplishments as college coaches.[6]
Stanley joined the New York Liberty as an assistant coach in 2004. She returned to the college coaching ranks in Sept.of 2006 as an assistant to C. Vivian Stringer at Rutgers University. They guided the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA finals in 2007.
The WNBA came calling in 2008 and Marianne left to join Coach Michael Cooper staff with the Los Angeles Sparks as an assistant from 2008 through 2009, and rejoined the Mystics as an assistant coach in 2010.
On November 27, 2019, Stanley was introduced as the head coach of the Indiana Fever. Stanley coached parts of three seasons with the team, amassing an 14–49 record before she was fired on May 25, 2022.[9]
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion