UMBC Women's Basketball Hires 3 New Coaches

By Jeff Seidel

The Retrievers women's basketball team has three new coaches on staff for 2013-2014.

UMBC women's basketball coach Phil Stern added assistant coaches Rich Conover and Taryn Christian to his staff this week. In addition, Marissa Crane joins the program as the team's Director of Basketball Operations.

Conover had been the head coach at Le Moyne (Division II) for four seasons. He knows the America East—UMBC's conference—as he took over as acting head coach during the 2002-03 season at Binghamton, and stayed through 2008. 

“Rich is one of the best defensive minds in our game,” Stern said in a UMBC press release this week. “I coached against him for many years and am thrilled to be working with him.”

Christian also is coming back to the conference. She was the Director of Basketball Operations at Towson last year but had the same job with America East opponent New Hampshire in 2011-12.

She played on Northeastern's team from 2007-11 and also was a student assistant coach director of team travel in 2010-11. Christian is from nearby Silver Spring. 

They'll both join Carlee Cassidy as assistant coaches. 

Crane played at Drexel through 2012. She was an assistant at Albright College (Division III) last year.