Kate Costanzo - Head Coach

Contact: kate.costanzo@allegheny.edu
814-332-2807

Allegheny College Director of Athletics and Recreation Betsy Mitchell has named Kate Costanzo the eighth head coach in the history of Allegheny women’s basketball. Costanzo served as the Gators’ interim head coach during the 2007-08 season.

“I really appreciate the confidence the College has shown in me to lead this program into the future,” said Costanzo.

“Kate is a passionate, hard-working, student-centered educator who will grow in her career to become a fine and very successful basketball coach,” said Mitchell. “I have confidence that she will take the lessons learned this year and only continue to build on them in service to the very strong women's basketball tradition at Allegheny.”

With a very young squad consisting of six freshmen, three sophomores, and three juniors, Costanzo led the Gators to an 11-15 finish with an 8-8 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Allegheny closed out the season with six wins in its final eight contests before falling at Denison in the first round of the NCAC Tournament.

“The best part of last season was seeing how much we grew as a team,” noted Costanzo. “We worked hard, learned a lot about each other, and improved each and every day. We finished the season very strong and put ourselves right in the mix with a lot of good teams.”

Three Gators – Stephanie Wolf (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), Emilie Simone (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), and Brittany Bell (Hempfield, Pa./Greensburg Area) – were named to the all-conference squad, with Wolf garnering first-team honors.

“It is very exciting to know that we don’t lose anybody to graduation,” said Costanzo. “Having that type of experience will make a big difference as we look for our players to step up into new leadership roles next season.”

Allegheny is expected to return all five starters and 13 letter winners in 2008-09, as the squad aims to improve on its fifth-place conference finish from a year ago.

“My expectations are the same as they have always been,” said Costanzo. “We need to play with confidence and maturity in order to distinguish ourselves as one of the upper-echelon teams in our conference. We will be better next year because of our experiences this past season.”

A native of Manorville, Pa., and a 2002 graduate of Penn State Erie, the Behrend College, Costanzo was a two-year all-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference selection for the Lady Lions. In 2001, she helped the squad to only its second NCAA Tournament berth. She ranks fourth on Behrend’s all-time scoring list with 1,055 points, having averaged 10 points per game for her career.

Costanzo also holds a Master of Arts degree in student affairs and higher education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The Allegheny women’s basketball program is in its 35th year of existence. Gator teams have combined to produce 487 wins and a .616 winning percentage. Allegheny has captured six NCAC regular season championships as well as five conference tournament crowns.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be in this position,” said Costanzo. “It feels very good to be a Gator.”

Tiffany Tucker - Assistant Coach

Contact: ttucker@allegheny.edu
814-332-3319

Tiffany Tucker, a 2006 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is in her first season as a member of the Allegheny women’s basketball coaching staff. A native of Petersburg, Virginia, Tucker was a four-year letterwinner for the Tar Heel basketball program and was the recipient of the Osterneck Most Inspirational Player Award in 2004-05 after returning to play following a serious knee injury during her freshman season.

She was also awarded the Tar Heel Coaches Award in both 2002 and 2004 and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship squad in 2005 that reached the NCAA Tournament Elite 8. Over her four seasons, the Heels were ACC runner-up three times while compiling an overall record of 108-26.

Tucker served as a camp counselor for the Sylvia Hatchell Basketball Camp in Chapel Hill, N.C. for the past four years prior to graduating with a degree in philosophy. She has since served as an Intensive In-Home Specialist for youth in the Durham, N.C. area.