Drexel University Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- melissa.dunne@drexel.edu
- Phone:
- x-1971
215-895-1971
Playing Career
Temple University (1998-2002)
Coaching
Drexel University Assistant Coach (2004-06, 2007-present)
University of Rhode Island Assistant Coach (2006-07)
Drexel University Graduate Assistant Coach (2002-04)
Career Accolades
Starting point guard for former head coach, WNBA All-Star and Olympian Dawn Staley at Temple
1999-00 Most Improved Player
2000-01 Atlantic 10 Champions
2000-01 Big 5 Champions
2001 NCAA Tournament
Assistant Coach Melissa Dunne has been a keystone in the foundation of Drexel’s recent success during her tenure in University City. Dunne steadily ascended the coaching ranks since joining Dillon’s staff as a graduate assistant in 2002. This will be her fifth season with the team and her second since returning to the program after serving as an assistant coach at Rhode Island for the 2006-07 season.
Dunne, who became a full assistant at the start of the 2004-05 season, was one of the first point guards under the tutelage of women’s basketball legend Dawn Staley at Temple University. As such, she has been able to effectively impart the lessons she learned as a player to each class that passes through the Drexel program.
As four-year member of the Temple University women’s basketball team, Dunne helped drive the resurgence of the program under Staley. After being named the team’s Most Improved Player for the 1999-2000 season, she was a member of Staley’s starting five in 2000-01. The squad turned in a 19-11 mark, the Owls’ first winning record in a decade, and earned a bid to the WNIT. Dunne served as team captain on the 2002 squad that turned in just the third 20-win season in school history, won its first Atlantic 10 Title, captured the Big 5 crown and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988-89. She completed her bachelor’s degree in journalism, broadcasting and public relations at Temple in 2002 and went on to earn a master’s degree in public communication from Drexel.
The leadership abilities and quick decision-making that she developed as a floor general at Temple have transitioned well in her coaching career, making her a valuable in-game resource for Dillon to have on the bench. While Dunne’s primary responsibility with the program is scouting and recruiting, her intensity and knowledge of the game are also valuable assets during games and in practice. She has taken an active role in crafting Drexel’s backcourt into one of the most reliable groups in the conference.
In 2004-05, her first season as a full-time assistant, Dunne’s guidance helped elevate the Dragons’ guard play. The team finished tops in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and ranked 15th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game despite losing its starting point guard to injury early in the season. The guards’ consistent play continued under Dunne’s guidance in 2005-06, as the team was second in the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio and ranked 12th in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game.
After taking an assistant position at Rhode Island for the 2006-07 season, Dunne returned to Drexel in 2007-08 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator on Dillon’s staff. She picked up right where she left off. She helped forge a Drexel backcourt that was second in the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio and ranked third in assists. With starting point guard Andrea Peterson missing the majority of the year with an injury suffered early in the season, Dunne’s guidance was essential to the development of Stacy McCullough, Jasmina Rosseel and Nicole Hester who took over much of the ball handling and assist distribution in her stead. With the help of Dunne’s coaching and support, McCullough, who had not started a game in three years with the team, took over as the starting point guard. By season’s end she was one of the team’s most reliable ball handlers and a key leader on the floor. Rosseel stepped up in her freshman season to earn All-Rookie Team honors and Hester finished the season ranked second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and among the top 10 in assists.
Dunne will once again be called upon to help elevate the level of Drexel’s guard play this season, as well as working to bring new talent into the DAC. But with the intensity of a true competitor and the credibility garnered by learning the game from one of its best players, Dunne will continue to inspire new generations of players to find the drive to win within themselves.
