WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William
and Mary women's basketball head coach Debbie Taylor has announced the hiring
of Kelly Morrone to the position of assistant coach. Morrone joins the Tribe from the University
of Rhode Island where she served as an assistant for the past two seasons under head coach Cathy Inglese.
"We are thrilled to have Kelly join our staff. I recruited her when I was an assistant at
South Carolina and couldn't be more excited to be reunited. Kelly is a proven recruiter and a
knowledgeable teacher of the game. I
admire her passion, highly competitive nature and straight forward
approach. We will look to her to lead
our recruiting efforts and be a vibrant floor coach, motivator and mentor for
our players."
During her tenure at Rhode Island, Morrone served as the
Rams Recruiting Coordinator overseeing every phase of the Rhode Island
recruiting efforts. She spearheaded the
2012 class of six signees including a national top-100 player. On the court, Morrone was the perimeter coach
for the Rams as her duties included offensive-coordinator, skill instruction,
game preparation, scouting and organizing pre and post-season workouts. While developing the Rhode Island perimeter she
helped Megan Shoniker earn third-team All-Atlantic 10 honors in 2011. Morrone also served as the liaison to the director
of compliance, admissions and the athletic training staff while at Rhode
Island.
From 2008 to 2010, Morrone was the top assistant at Davidson
College. Her responsibilities included oversight
of: recruiting, player development, strength and conditioning and scouting. In 2009, the staff landed Sophia
Aleksandravicius, who was named the 2012 Southern Conference Player of the Year. Morrone's 2010 class followed suit, with Laura
Murray, earning SOCON Freshman of the Year honors. This past season the heralded duo guided
Davidson to the SOCON regular season championship.
Morrone made her collegiate coaching debut in 2005 as an
assistant at the University of Buffalo. Prior
to joining the Buffalo staff, Morrone was an assistant coach with the Heathwood
Hall varsity girl's team for the 2004-2005 season.
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Morrone attended the University
of South Carolina and was a four-year letterwinner and three-year captain on
the Lady Gamecocks basketball team.
Today, she ranks third all-time in USC history in 3-pointers made (238)
and in 3-point field goal percentage (.369). During her playing career, she help guide the
Gamecocks to two NCAA Tournament appearances, which included an overall record
of 25-7 and a trip to the Elite Eight in 2002.
South Carolina finished the 2001-02 campaign ranked sixth in the nation.
Morrone graduated from South Carolina in 2003 with a degree
in sport and entertainment management.
She minored in business and was a four-year Southeastern Conference
Academic Honor Roll team representative.
