Gannon head women’s basketball coach Jim Brunelli has announced the addition of Christina Harvey to the coaching staff. She replaces Amanda Parris, who resigned last month to accept an assistant coaching position at NCAA Division I Wofford College of the Southern Conference (SoCon).
Harvey comes to Gannon after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Alvernia (Pa.) University of the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC). In addition to her coaching duties, she also served as the athletics department’s assistant strength and conditioning coach.
“I am very excited and grateful for the opportunity Coach Brunelli, his staff and (Gannon Director of Athletics) Lisa Goddard McGuirk have given me to become part of the Gannon women’s basketball staff and Lady Knight family,” said Harvey. “I believe in the vision and high standards of Coach Brunelli. I am excited for this opportunity to help build on the foundation he has set on and off the court. Gannon is a special place and I am excited to be able to work with such great student-athletes and colleagues. I look forward to getting started and becoming part of the Gannon community.”
Harvey participated in every aspect of coaching at Alvernia such as practice sessions, strength and conditioning programs, game plans, bench coaching, player development, film breakdown, scouting reports, recruiting, academics and travel plans. Academically, she helped cultivate an environment that produced 12 MAC Academic Honor Roll recipients during her two years on the staff.
“I am really excited to add Christina to the Lady Knights’ coaching staff and Gannon community,” said Brunelli. “She brings a great combination of playing and coaching experience to share with our student-athletes. I had the opportunity to coach against her when she was a student-athlete at Pfeiffer University and can’t wait for our student-athletes to work with her.”
Harvey was a standout during her collegiate playing days at Pfeiffer, before concluding her career seventh all-time in program history with 1,200 career points. The forward averaged 16.8 points and 9.5 rebounds as a senior in 2012-13, helping the Falcons advance to the Conference Carolinas Championship and second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. She scored over 20 points while playing every minute during the final two games of the conference tournament and both NCAA Tournament contests.
At Pfeiffer, Harvey was a three-year team captain and four-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She ranked 11th among all NCAA Division II players in field goal percentage (55.0), 14th in double-doubles (14), 48th in rebounds per game and 64th in points per game as a senior. She also set a program record with 112 offensive rebounds in 32 games. Her senior accolades included All-Conference Carolinas first team, Conference Carolinas All-Tournament team, NCAA Division II Southeast Region All-Tournament team and Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll.
Harvey graduated from Pfeiffer with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a sports medicine concentration and minor in athletic coaching in 2013. She later received a master’s degree in exercise science and health promotion from California (Pa.) in 2014.
Tagged with: Assistant Coach DII
