Coach Cori Hughes
Cori Hughes begins her third season at the helm of the Salve Regina women's basketball program in 2009-10. Last season, Hughes completed her most successful season as a head coach when she guided the Seahawks to a 20-9 record, a The Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Following a regular-season which saw them earn the No. 5 seed in TCCC Tournament, the Seahawks won three consecutive road playoff contests to advance to 'The Big Dance' for the fifth time in school history. Salve Regina began its unlikely run with a 68-56 win at No. 4 Colby-Saywer, then knocked off No. 1 Nichols 60-45 in the semifinals and No. 2 Endicott 72-67 in the finals. The highlight of the Seahawks run through the tournament was a shot from senior Allegra Lovoy from three-quarters length court just before the half in the championship contest at Endicott that was later broadcast worldwide on ESPN's 'Sportscenter.' The win over the Gulls gave Salve Regina its seventh conference championship and fifth in the last seven years.
Hughes laid the foundation for the Seahawks' run to the NCAA Tournament one year earlier, when she helped the team post a 14-11 record in her first season at the end of the bench. However, what made Hughes' job in 2008-09 even more fascinating is that her squad featuring just one senior (Lovoy). The Seahawks were the only school in the field of 64 to earn a tournament berth by virtue of winning three road playoff contests.
Prior to her arrival in Newport, Hughes spent the previous six seasons as head coach at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H. She coached the Eagles to a record of 36-99, including a 16-68 mark in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. The Eagles posted a combined record of 5-36 (2-22 GNAC) from 2002-04, but combined to win 25 games under Hughes from 2004-07, highlighted by a 10-game win streak during the 2005-06 season.
Hughes also spent five seasons as coach at Cohasset (Mass.) Middle/High School and one season at Millis (Mass.) High School. She has worked numerous basketball camps and clinics throughout the region over the last 16 years, and has also coached men's and women's cross country, women's soccer, and softball at the collegiate level.
As a player, Hughes led her Madison (N.Y.) High School Blue Devils basketball team to a 90-11 record from her freshman to senior season (which ended with a record of 23-1 after a loss in the state finals). Not only did she score well over 1,000 points while at Madison, but she also dished out over 1,000 assists. For her efforts, she was a four-year all-conference selection, a three-year team captain, a league MVP, and two year all-state honoree.
Hughes went on to play collegiately at Boston University, where she was a four-year letterwinner on the Terrier women's basketball team. She became the first junior to be elected captain in 1990.
A 1992 graduate of Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in English secondary education, Hughes also serves as the facilities coordinator for the athletic department.
(Updated 8/10/09)
