The all-time winningest coach in WPI Women’s Basketball history, Cherise Galasso has been a pillar of the program for two decades.
Since taking the reins of the women’s basketball program at the turn of the century, Galasso has won nearly 350 games on Boynton Hill. She has led her teams to five NEWMAC championship game appearances, including a conference title and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016, when she was named New England Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year.
Galasso first brought the Engineers to regional prominence in 2007 and 2009 with victories in the ECAC New England championships. Those same years, the Engineers were NEWMAC regular season champions, a feat they accomplished again in 2018. That team featured Ama Biney, who, under Galasso’s watch, was a two-time NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year and the 2018 NEWMAC Co-Athlete of the Year.
“What makes Cherise a great coach isn’t found looking in the record books, it’s the time she takes to invest in building relationships with each one of her players and the coaches on her staff,” quipped long-time assistant coach Maegan Cook. “She is someone that I’ve learned a lot from these past 11 years, not only about basketball but life lessons”.
The 2006-2007 squad won its final five conference contests to secure WPI’s first-ever NEWMAC regular season title and first overall since a NEW-8 title in 1996. The Engineers captured the ECAC New England crown with consecutive home victories over Nichols, Endicott and Wheaton. It was déjà vu all over again two years later in 2009 as the Crimson and Gray rattled off six straight wins to reclaim the NEWMAC banner and then bested Colby-Sawyer, Emerson and Nichols to win their second ECAC title in three seasons.
The 2015-2016 campaign was a magical one for Galasso and her team as they started the season winning 20 of their first 21 games en route to equaling the 2008-2009 team’s record for 24 wins in a season. The Engineers earned national recognition by receiving votes in both the D3hoops.com Top 25 and USA Today Division III poll and established a new program-best winning streak with 18 straight triumphs. After defeating Smith and Coast Guard in their first two NEWMAC Tournament games, WPI won its first conference championship tournament and NCAA berth with a pulsating 60-59 road win at Babson, scoring the winning basket of a diagramed play with just 7.3 seconds remaining.
Defense has always been a staple of Galasso’s teams. Just this past season, a year in which the Crimson and Gray went 19-6 and were again receiving votes in both national polls, they held opponents to under 50 points a game, yet again ranking in the top 20 nationally in team scoring defense.
Galasso, who also serves as an Associate Athletic Director and the department’s Senior Woman Administrator, has emphasized service to the community. Her program has a partnership with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, participates annually in Relay for Life and the Worcester Cleanup service project, and has hosted the Central MA Special Olympics Championship.
