After an 18-12 season, the Bloomsburg Women’s Basketball Team made it to the second round of playoffs for the first time since 2020. Talking about improvement, this season marked the largest year-to-year jump from last season to this season. Winning an additional 8 games, 5 of which were conference games. After finishing third in the PSAC Eastern Conference, Voice staff and the Champions Podcast spoke with Alison Tagliaferri PSAC East Coach of the year and Katie Starr, who was named first team all-conference.
Throughout the season, Tagliaferri talked about this team and their mental struggles. There were weeks where this team lacked confidence, and made moments feel a lot bigger than they should have been, which caused a struggle in some games. There were other weeks where the team felt too comfortable, specifically when they secured their playoff spot and still had some regular-season games ahead. By the end of the season, she felt they had tremendously improved.
“We still need to grasp the fact that anyone can beat anyone at any given day in this conference. We certainly improved in a lot of areas but still have a far way to go to getting ourselves in an even better place moving forward and continuing with the success we built this year,” Tagliaferri said.
This was Coach Tagliaferri’s second honor of Coach of the Year. Her first being for the 2018-2019 season. As for her honor this year, she was surprised considering not finishing in first or second, but it made sense with the year that they had.
“Anytime you win this award is a credit to the whole program itself. I don’t think it’s ever just me. I think after the last two years of struggling, I was just so happy for this senior class.”
Coach Tagliaferri knew how possible it was for this team to go far. She emphasized that if her team can ‘buy into’ having a strong defense, they can do a lot of things with the talent on the team, and it was almost an “I told you so” moment for her as a coach.
With the large senior class they are losing, the underclassmen have quite the shoes to fill. Coach Tagliaferri emphasizes the underclassmen on her roster could play a big role in the upcoming season. Their reps now and how they spend their summer preparing are more important than ever.
“We do have a pretty large freshman class coming in, and I do think that there’s a lot of players in that class that are capable, but I also think that these nine are the people that it should be. From a defensive standpoint, we could be even better, and this is one of the best defensive groups we’ve ever had. I’m excited to see what we can do on that end, because it will transfer on the offensive side of things.”
As Coach Tagliaferri credited her team’s collective growth and resilience throughout the season, she mentioned the importance of leadership from her seniors, which was a key reason behind the season’s success. Among those seniors, Starr stood out as a leader on and off the court. Starr was honored to the All-PSAC East Team, finished averaging 14.6 points per game, 70 steals on the season, as well at 36 blocks. Starr finished with 1,331 career points, emphasizing her court leadership.
In the quarterfinals game against Lock Haven, Katie Starr went down in the first quarter with a season-ending injury, changing the trajectory of the game. Despite not being able to finish her final game as a Husky, Starr held her head high and credits her teammates behind her.
“They may be losing us, but the team still has an amazing group. I’m not worried for them at all, it’s hard for other teams who lose those seniors, but you look at the group we had, and they have so much experience. They’re going to do fine,” Starr said.
Overall, she left with a bittersweet feeling, recalling her experiences, and was surprised how much of a bond she built with this team. They aren’t just a team; they’re a family.
“Coming in I didn’t think I would be able to have these relationships on a sports team, but they become more of a family rather than just a team.”
Starr spoke highly of the coaching staff; Coach Tagliaferri and Coach Flanagan were mentors for not just basketball but also just in life. She praised her fellow seniors, the ‘OG 5.’ Having the bond since freshman year to graduation is something she is grateful to experience. These relationships translated to being successful on the court and truly flowing as a team.
As for what is next for Katie Starr? She has plans to continue school and get her master’s in sport psychology. It won’t be too much of a summer for her though, as she plans to recover from her planned surgery for her knee on May 23.
