Tusculum College Women's Basketball Coaching Staff

Head Coach Missy Tiber | Assistant Coach Adrianne Harlow

MISSY TIBER
Head Women's Basketball Coach
(email Coach Tiber)

In just three seasons, head coach Missy Tiber has resurrected the storied Tusculum College women's basketball program back to prominence, leading the Pioneers to three consecutive winning seasons for the first time in over a decade. Since her arrival at the Greeneville, Tenn. campus, she has guided the TC women to a sterling 60-28 record for a .682 winning percentage, the second best in school history.

Including a successful four-year run at Belmont Abbey College, Tiber has accounted for an impressive 141-64 career record (.681) as her teams have posted a winning campaign in each of her seven seasons, including three with 20 or more victories.

Tiber coaches an up-tempo style that has produced some staggering numbers in her three Tusculum seasons. During the Tiber era, the Pioneers are averaging 73.7 points per game, while limiting the opposition to just 65.8 markers per contest. The Pioneers have utilized the three-point shot in their offensive attack. Since 2005, the Pioneers are averaging 8.3 three-point field goals per game, which is the fourth-best average in NCAA Division II during that three-year span. Only West Liberty State College (9.5), Regis University (9.1) and the University of South Dakota (8.9) can boast a better number beyond the arc.

In 2007-08, the Pioneers enjoyed one of its finest seasons ever as Tusculum posted a 26-5 record and won the program's first-ever South Atlantic Conference Championship. TC mounted winning streaks of 12 and 11 games as the Pioneers claimed its first 20-win season in 11 years, while garnering the school's first NCAA Division II Tournament berth.

Three players earned All-Conference recognition, including forward Stephany Neptune, who was named to the WBCA All-America Team, becoming the first women's basketball player at Tusculum to earne NCAA All-America recognition. Tiber herself was honored by the WBCA, being named the Region Coach of the Year. Also earning All-SAC honors were guards Ashli Oliver and rookie Jasmine Gunn, who was also selected as the South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year. The trio led the Pioneers to a 13-1 SAC record, the best in school history.

The 2007-08 team finished nationally ranked in 10 statistical categories, including the seventh-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 78.7 points per game.

In her first season at Tusculum, Tiber took the Pioneers to new heights, leading the squad to an 18-10 showing, including a 7-7 conference record as the Pioneers tied for second place in the league. The 18-10 worksheet was a vast improvement over the 8-21 slate compiled by the squad in the year prior to Tiber's arrival. The overall 10-win improvement was the fifth-best margin in the nation (NCAA II). Tiber also led her young team to its first appearance in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship. For her efforts, Tiber was named the SAC Coach of the Year.

In 2006-07, Tusculum battled through numerous injuries to key personnel, but still posted a 16-13 record and advanced to the SAC Tournament semifinal for a second straight year. Tiber had two players go down with knee injuries, but with eight healthy bodies, Tusculum won four of its last five games, including a convincing 81-61 win over second-seeded Catawba College in the SAC Tournament quarterfinal. Tusculum led the league averaging 8.7 three-point field goals per game. TC also established a new TC and SAC single-season record with 252 three-pointers. TC's three-point attack was paced by Oliver as she posted 3.6 treys per game (3rd in NCAA II), earning All-SAC Second Team honors.

Tiber recorded her 100th career win on Nov. 17, 2006 as the Pioneers knocked off Converse College 79-55 in its season opener.

In her four years at Belmont Abbey, Tiber guided the Crusaders to an 81-36 record, including a 22-8 mark in 2004-05, while advancing to the championship game of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) Tournament. That 2004-05 club produced the No. 5 scoring team in the country, averaging 84 points per game. Belmont Abbey also tallied 8.7 three-point field goals per game that season, which was second in the land. She mentored eight all-conference selections while at the Belmont, N.C. school, including Nicole Woods, who earned NCAA Division II All-Region recognition in 2005. Woods averaged 18.5 points per game (29th in NCAA II) and was third nationally in assists, dishing out 8.1 per contest.

In her first season as a head coach, Tiber led Belmont Abbey to a 22-8 record, including a 16-4 mark in the league, while capturing a share of the CVAC Championship. That team also won the CVAC Tournament title and earned a berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Crusaders went 19-10 the following year and tied for third in the conference race before falling in the CVAC Tournament quarterfinals. In 2003-04, Tiber guided the Abbey to an 18-10 showing and advanced to the CVAC Tournament semifinals.

Prior to arriving at Belmont Abbey, Tiber served six years as the assistant women's basketball coach at West Liberty State, her alma mater. During her tenure at West Liberty, the Hilltoppers won three West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) championships and four WVIAC Tournament titles and earned four NCAA Division II Tournament berths.

During her collegiate playing career at West Liberty, Tiber scored 926 points in her three seasons with the Hilltoppers. As a senior, she averaged 17 points per game, earning All-WVIAC honors, and was selected to the WVIAC All-Tournament squad.

Tiber, a native of Bellaire, Ohio, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from West Liberty in 1994. While at Belmont Abbey, she also served as the institution's Senior Woman Administrator for the 2004-05 academic year.

ADRIANNE HARLOW
Assistant Coach
(email Coach Harlow)

Adrianne Harlow is set to begin her fourth season as an assistant coach with the Tusculum College women's basketball program.

She is also entering her eighth season overall as a collegiate coach, serving three years with the Pioneers and four on Coach Missy Tiber's staff at Belmont Abbey College.

Harlow is responsible for on-court instruction, academic counseling, individual player development, recruiting and fundraising. She has been instrumental in the Pioneers dramatic turnaround, helping Tusculum to back-to-back-to-back winning campaigns, including a 26-5 record and a South Atlantic Conference Championship in 2007-08.

At Belmont Abbey, Harlow helped guide the Crusaders to average 20 wins per season, including last year's 22-8 record, while advancing to the championship game of the Carolinas Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) Tournament. Her first season at Belmont Abbey was a memorable one as the Crusaders won 22 games and captured a share of the Conference Championship, en route to a CVAC Tournament title and a berth to the NCAA East Regional.

The Tipton, Ind. native played her collegiate career at West Liberty State College where she was a three-time All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standout. Harlow was also the NCAA Division II National Statistical Champion in assists per game twice in her career. In 1999-00, she averaged 8.0 assists per game and followed that dishing out 8.5 helpers per contest. Her 843 career assists are third all-time at West Liberty and fifth most in NCAA II history.

Harlow led the Hilltoppers to a pair of WVIAC Championships, three WVIAC Tournament titles and three NCAA II Tournament berths. She was also a three-time WVIAC All-Tournament selection, NCAA All-East Region Second Team and was twice named Conference Player of the Week. In 2001, she was also selected to the Daktronics All-East Region squad and earned the WVIAC Tournament Heart and Hustle Award. Harlow ended her career with 1,005 points, 405 rebounds and finished third in Topper history with 185 steals and fourth in free throw percentage (74.1%). She was also the East Region Scholar Athlete of the Year.

This past season, Harlow received a pair of tremendous honors. In 2006, she was named to the West Liberty State College Sports Hall of Fame. This past March, Harlow was named one of the top 25 women's basketball players in the history of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Harlow earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 2001 from West Liberty with a specialization in Administrative Mathematics. She is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and founder of Hoops Heaven Basketball Skill Development.