Bozzella Finalizes Coaching Staff
4/23/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Seton Hall University Head Women’s Basketball Coach Anthony Bozzella today announced the additions of Stephanie Del Preore and Tiffany Jones to his coaching staff.
Del Preore spent the previous three seasons as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at the University of Bridgeport while Jones recently completed her fourth season on the bench at her alma mater, Saint Peter’s University, serving as the interim head coach last season.
Bozzella previously announced that Lauren DeFalco would be joining him as an assistant coach and top recruiting coordinator at Seton Hall after she spent the last two seasons in the same capacity working with him at Iona.
“I’m really excited with the staff we have put together here,” Bozzella said. “I’m blessed to be joined by three young ladies who not only are some of the top coaches in the business but certainly will be some of the most loyal coaches you can have. I think there is a wealth of knowledge all three of them will bring in different areas which is only going to help strengthen our program.”
Del Preore, who is a native of Livingston, N.J., and will serve as the top assistant on Bozzella’s staff, posted a 43-42 overall record in three seasons at Bridgeport, leading the Purple Knights to an 18-10 record and a 12-6 record in the East Coast Conference (ECC) during the 2012-13 season, setting new career-high totals in overall and conference wins.
“I have known Stephanie Del Preore for many years, first from coaching against her when she was a tremendous player for Marist,” Bozzella said. “I think she’s one of the rising stars in the profession and I’m really thrilled to bring her in as my lead assistant. She is a native of New Jersey and grew up going to Seton Hall women’s basketball camp so I am happy to have someone here who shares as much excitement, passion and belief in Seton Hall as I do.”
In just her first season at Bridgeport Del Preore went 17-14 overall and guided her team to the ECC championship game. She coached a pair of standouts to First-Team All-ECC accolades this past season.
Prior to her time at Bridgeport, Del Preore was an assistant coach for two seasons at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., where she was the acting head coach for the final portion of the 2009-10 season.
Collegiately Del Preore was a standout student-athlete at Marist College where she scored 1,114 points and pulled down 670 rebounds, averaging 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 109-career appearances. She graduated as the program’s sixth all-time leading scorer and ranked fifth in career rebounds.
She was a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) All-Rookie selection in 2000-01 and went on to earn Second-Team All-MAAC honors in 2003-04 when she was also named the Most Valuable Player of the MAAC Tournament.
Following her collegiate career Del Preore played professionally for Club Irlandesas in Leioa, Spain, for one season, leading the team in scoring, rebounding and minutes. Her prep career at Livingston High School ended with her leaving the school as its all-time leading scorer (1,809 points) and rebounder (1,454 rebounds).
At Iona DeFalco worked primarily with the Gaels’ guards in addition to assisting with recruiting and scouting duties. She started her coaching career as an assistant coach for two years at Sacred Heart University, aiding in all aspects of the program.
“Lauren has been a great player for me, a tough competitor and clutch player, all through hard work,” Bozzella said. “She is a tremendous hard working young woman. I’m proud to make her my recruiting coordinator because she knows the type of student-athletes we need to be successful here at Seton Hall and that we were successful with at Iona.”
DeFalco played four years under Bozzella at Iona, graduating in 2008 as the program’s all-time leader in games played and three-point field goals. As a player she helped guide the Gaels to back-to-back MAAC championship game appearances and consecutive berths in the WNIT in 2007 and 2008.
A native of East Brunswick, N.J., DeFalco starred at Immaculata High School before attending Iona.
Jones graduated from Saint Peter’s in 2006 and went on to spend four seasons there as an assistant coach. At Saint Peter’s she worked with the team’s guards in addition to taking on scouting and administrative duties as well as overseeing the program’s academic success.
“Tiffany is one of the fiercest competitors I have coached against,” Bozzella said. “She has become a close friend and an ally. Tiffany knows how to play the game, she knows how to teach the game and I’m looking for her to do so many different things for us and our program, whether it’s individual work, recruiting or helping put in game plans.”
Jones was a Third-Team All-MAAC selection in 2005 after she led Saint Peter’s in scoring with 13.9 points per game and she ranks eighth in program history in scoring average (12.9 ppg) and first in three-point field goal percentage (.419).
She played professionally in Gottingen, Germany and Enschede, Holland, from 2006-07, before beginning her coaching career. Jones graduated with a dual degree in criminal justice and psychology while maintaining a 3.4 grade point average.
