Alison Tagliaferri will enter her eighth year at the helm of Bloomsburg University women's basketball team in the 2023-2024 season after being named the head women's basketball coach in May 2016. Before Bloomsburg, Tagliaferri spent four years as the Mansfield University head coach.
Entering the 2023-24 season, Tagliaferri has an 85-85 overall record at Bloomsburg. She has guided 10 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference players, including one first-team honoree in 2018-19 and two in 2021-22.
Bloomsburg finished out the 2021-22 season with an overall record of 18-11 and conference record of 16-6. The squad finished as the No. 2 team in the PSAC East and the Huskies went on an impressive eight-game win streak during the regular season. The team was led by two First Team All-Conference players in Emma Saxton and Meghan Corridoni. Saxton was also named the PSAC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 1.9 steals per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and 0.6 blocks. Saxton led the team in points with an average of 13.4 and Corridoni was right behind with her 13.3 average. Corridoni led the team in rebounds with 8.1 per game.
Prior to the 2020-21 season getting canceled due to COVID-19, the Huskies finished the 2019-20 season 14-14 after making it to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament quarterfinal round. The Huskies earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament and upset Kutztown 61-57 in the opening round. Junior Emma Saxton earned her second-straight All-PSAC East second-team honors following the year. Senior Taylor Montana received the NCAA DII Degree Completion Award following the season after a national search committee selected her based on academic performance, athletic achievement, and involvement in campus and community activities.
In 2018-19, Tagliaferri led the Huskies to a 20-10 overall record, the highest win in five seasons. The Huskies advanced to the semifinal round of the PSAC tournament, and Tagliaferri was named the PSAC Coach of the Year. Junior Taylor Montana (First Team), sophomore Emma Saxton (Second Team), and senior Alyssa Mack (Second Team) earned All-PSAC distinction following the regular season. The Huskies earned a share of PSAC East title with their 68-63 win on Senior Day over Shippensburg.
Tagliaferri guided Bloomsburg to a 13-16 overall record in the 2017-18 season and qualified for the PSAC tournament. Junior Alyssa Mack and sophomore Taylor Montana grabbed PSAC Eastern Division second-team honors. As a team, the Huskies were fifth in the PSAC in scoring defense, allowing just 63.0 points per game, and opponents posted the third-worst field goal percentage of 37.3% for the year.
In her first year at the helm, Tagliafferri helped Bloomsburg to an 11-17 season in 2016-17, including winning 10 out of their final 15 games. Following the season, seniors Morgan Klunk and Alex Ross earned All-PSAC Eastern Division Second Team honors. Bloomsburg allowed the fifth-lowest rebounds per game in the PSAC (36.4 rebounds per game) and had the third-most blocked shots (112/4.0 blocks/game).
Tagliaferri was an exceptional two-sport athlete at Mansfield playing basketball for five seasons from 2002-06 under head coach Ruth Hermansen and playing softball for four seasons from 2002-05 under head coach Edith Gallagher.
Tagliaferri was named PSAC East Player of the Week nine times during her career and is the all-time leading scorer in Mansfield history with 1,795 points – more than 200 points better than the next highest scorer. She is also the most accurate shooter in school history, hitting 48.4% of her shots. Tagliaferri ranks first in career blocks (130) and free throws made (457) and fourth in rebounds (852).
She is the first and only women's basketball player in school history to earn First Team All-PSAC East honors during all four seasons at Mansfield and was also named to the All-PSAC East softball team three times.
During her senior season in 2006, Tagliaferri was named PSAC East Player of the Year, becoming the first Mansfield women's athlete ever to earn that honor after leading the Mountaineers to their first-ever PSAC playoff berth. She also collected NCAA Division II All-East honors and was named an Honorable Mention Division II Bulletin All-American that season.
As a senior, Tagliaferri was second in the PSAC in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game, and ranked sixth in the conference in rebounding at 8.5 boards per outing. She also ranked in the top ten in the PSAC in blocked shots and shooting percentage.
Tagliaferri was the PSAC East Rookie of the Year in 2002 after averaging 14.6 points per game and pulling down 182 rebounds her freshman season.
Following graduation, she played professional basketball in Portugal in 2007, earning a spot on the Portuguese Basketball Federation All-Star team. Tagliaferri also played for the Harrisburg Horizon of the Women's Eastern Basketball Alliance in 2008.
Tagliaferri was equally as successful on the softball diamond helping the Mountaineers to an ECAC Softball Championship in 2004. A three-time All-PSAC East selection, she earned All-North Atlantic Regional honors in 2004 after hitting .429 with eight home runs and knocking in 33 runs. Tagliaferri also posted an 8-5 mark on the mound that year with a 1.65 ERA, striking out 90 batters in 98 innings while walking just 29.
Named PSAC East Player of the Week five times during her softball career, Tagliaferri still ranks third in school history in career home runs with 17. She also ranks third in school history for career RBIs (78) and fourth in doubles (23). Also an outstanding pitcher, Tagliaferri had a 24-17 win-loss record and currently ranks second in career ERA (2.11) and strikeouts (296).
After graduating from Mansfield, Tagliaferri became the head women's basketball coach at Pennsylvania College of Technology from 2007 through the end of the 2009-10 season, where she guided the Wildcats to three PSUAC Elite Eight playoff appearances. Over her three seasons as head coach, Tagliaferri posted a 43-34 overall mark with a 35-17 record against PSUAC opponents.
She earned a Master's Degree in Education from Lock Haven University in 2009 and served as the assistant coach at Eastern University during the 2010-11 season. Tagliaferri was an assistant coach at West Chester University before she arrived at Mansfield.
In 2011, Tagliaferri was inducted into both the Mansfield University Athletic/Alumni Hall of Fame as well as the West Branch Hall of Fame.
Updated on 9/10/2022
