Diane Decker enters her fourth season as the head coach of East Stroudsburg University’s women’s basketball program in 2018-19. The Warriors have been a consistent presence near the top of the PSAC East standings in the first three seasons of her current tenure, with the program earning three PSAC quarterfinal appearances and a spot in the PSAC Final Four in 2016-17.
ESU finished 16-11 overall in 2017-18, placing second in the PSAC East standings with a 14-8 conference record despite having only one senior and two juniors on the roster. The Warriors earned a bye into the quarterfinals for a second-straight year before seeing their season end with a defeat to Millersville. Senior guard Imani Brown became the first ESU player to be named PSAC East Player of the Year since 1995, while Brown (first team) and sophomore guard Tiffany Lapotsky (second team) earned All-PSAC East accolades.
Decker led the Warriors to their best season in 10 years in 2016-17, as ESU finished with a 19-9 record while booking a trip to the PSAC Final Four for the first time since 2006-07. The Warriors began the year with five-straight wins, and they did not drop a game at Koehler Fieldhouse until January 9, ultimately finishing with victories in 11 of 14 home contests.
ESU ended the season as the No. 2 seed in the PSAC. The Warriors advanced to the Final Four with an 82-53 home rout over sixth-seeded Millersville, setting up a matchup with nationally-ranked California. ESU was competitive throughout against the Vulcans before falling 71-69 on a game-winning basket in the closing seconds.
Allison Howard, Imani Brown and Noelle Powell were all named first team All-PSAC East, marking the first time in program history that the Warriors had three athletes recognized on the first team.
There were also plenty of PSAC accolades in Decker’s debut season, as she was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year in 2015-16 after helping the Warriors to a 15-13 record, a fourth-place finish in the PSAC East and a spot in the PSAC quarterfinals. ESU began the year 1-7, but closed with a 14-6 record over the final 20 games to surge into the postseason. Included in that stretch was a 74-73 home win over defending DII national champions California on Jan. 3, giving the Warriors their first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since 1995.
Decker previously coached at ESU for three seasons (assistant coach 2005-06 and 2006-07, interim head coach 2007-08) before spending seven seasons as an assistant coach at Bloomsburg - helping the Huskies to five PSAC East regular season titles, one PSAC Tournament title and four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.
In her first stint at ESU, the Warriors' 2005-06 squad went 16-12 overall, 9-3 in the PSAC East, and won the first of two straight PSAC East regular season titles. The 2006-07 team had a 25-4 record, setting a school record for wins, and went 11-1 in the PSAC East. The Warriors reached the PSAC Final Four for the first time since 1994-95.
In seven seasons at Bloomsburg, the Huskies went 149-54 with five straight 20-win seasons. Bloomsburg advanced to the NCAA DII Atlantic Region final in each of Decker’s last two seasons with the program.
Decker recruited, developed and coached four 1,000-point scorers and three players who combined for four PSAC East Athlete of the Year honors - Kelsey Gallagher (2011, 2012), Catherine Noack (2014) and current ESU assistant coach Marla Simmons (2015). Gallagher earned All-America honors in 2011.
Prior to coaching at ESU, Decker was head coach at Freedom High School in Bethlehem for three seasons (2002-03 through 2004-05). She coached the Patriots to an 49-29 record, reaching the District XI Playoffs all three seasons, and coached two 1,000-point scorers.
She was previously the junior varsity coach and assistant varsity coach at Notre Dame High School in Easton from 1996 through 2001, and was an AAU coach and counselor for the Lehigh Valley Express in Allentown from 1991 through 2005.
Decker was a standout player at Marian Catholic High School and Villanova University. The Wildcats played in the NCAA Tournament all four years during her college career (1985-86 through 1988-89), including reaching the Sweet 16 during her sophomore season. She was second team All-Big East and team captain as a senior and helped Villanova to Big East championships as a sophomore and junior.
In high school at Marian Catholic, she was a Converse High School All-American and USA Today All-American Honorable Mention. She holds school records with 2,377 points and 1,116 rebounds, won the PIAA Class A state championship in 1984 and won two district championships. She was first team All-State as a junior and senior and was inducted to the Marian Catholic Hall of Fame in 2006.
Decker was further recognized for her athletic success in October, 2017, as she was one of 10 standouts inducted into the Northern Anthracite Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (
story).
