Holy Cross Director of Athletics Marcus Blossom is pleased to introduce Maureen Magarity as the next head coach of the Crusader women’s basketball program. Magarity, who arrives on Mount St. James after spending the last 10 years leading the program at the University of New Hampshire, becomes the seventh head coach in program history.
“I’m excited to welcome Coach Magarity and her two daughters, Charlotte and Caroline, to the Holy Cross family,” said Blossom. “Maureen is a highly respected teacher, mentor and coach who is committed to the athletic, academic and overall personal development of our women’s basketball student-athletes. She has won championships as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach, and we look forward to competing for and winning Patriot League championships under her leadership.
“I’d also like to thank Ann McInerney for her tireless dedication and commitment to the Holy Cross women’s basketball program as the interim head coach over the past season and a half, and as an assistant coach for nearly 11 years. Ann led this program with integrity, and upheld our Jesuit values each and every day. I wish her the best as she moves forward.”
Magarity brings a combined 21 years of Division I playing and coaching experience to The Hill, and has served as the head coach of the University of New Hampshire since 2010. The 2017 Kay Yow National Coach of the Year, she recorded 146 wins during her tenure in Durham – the second most by a head coach in program history.
“I’m extremely honored to be the next head women’s basketball coach at Holy Cross,” said Magarity. “I’m grateful for this incredible opportunity to lead these amazing young women and am excited to build relationships within the community and with the alumni that love this program.”
The architect of a program-changing turnaround in Durham, Magarity made an instant impact upon arriving at UNH, posting winning records in three of her first five seasons and leading the Wildcats to the program’s first winning season since 2005-06. She would go on to take a program that won just 33 games in the four years prior to her arrival and guide it to a 93-60 record from 2013-18, including a combined 45 wins from 2016-18, the most victories in a two-year span in UNH’s history.
In 2016-17, Magarity led UNH to a 26-6 record en route to an America East regular-season title, also marking the program’s first 20-win season in more than 33 years and the second-biggest turnaround in Division I that season. The Wildcats recorded a school-record 13 consecutive victories and won 19 of their final 20 regular-season games on their way to the program’s first title since 1985. For its efforts, the team was awarded its first WNIT berth since 1999. Magarity, in addition to being named the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year, earned 2017 America East Coach of the Year honors, and was a finalist for the WBCA National Coach of the Year.
The 2017-18 season also saw great success, with the team going 19-12 overall. Both the Class of 2017 and the Class of 2018 posted 74-48 career records, marking the winningest senior classes in program history. In total, Magarity saw 18 all-conference selections in her time at the helm in Durham, including the 2017 America East Player of the Year (Carlie Pogue) and 2019 America East Rookie of the Year (Kari Brekke).
Magarity is no stranger to the Patriot League, having spent four seasons on the coaching staff at Army West Point from 2006-10, including the 2009-10 season as associate head coach. In Magarity’s four seasons at West Point, the Black Knights posted an overall record of 72-48, including a program-best 24-win campaign during the 2006-07 season. The Black Knights averaged 20 wins in each of her first three seasons on the staff, the best three-year span in program history.
Her coaching career began at Marist, where she was an assistant during the 2004-05 season. That season, the Red Foxes finished with a 22-7 record, the most wins in program history, and earned the regular-season MAAC title. Before joining the Army staff, Magarity also spent one season as an assistant at Fairfield.
Magarity played three seasons at Marist from 2001-04, serving as team captain her junior and senior seasons and leading the Red Foxes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004. She garnered two All-MAAC Second Team selections and was a 2004 MAAC All-Tournament Team honoree. She earned two MAAC Scholar-Athlete awards (2002, 2004) and received the James Pizzani Award for dedication and loyalty as a senior. Magarity began her collegiate playing career in 1999-00 at Boston College, where the Eagles reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Magarity earned a B.A. in communications and public relations from Marist in 2003 before earning her Master’s degree in public administration while at Marist in 2005.
Photo Courtesy Holy Cross Athletics
Tagged with: Holy Cross Patriot League
