Head coach JD Gravina announced the addition of Taylor Ignoto to the women's basketball staff as an assistant coach in 2016.
Ignoto enters her second season with the Leathernecks as an assistant coach, where she helped coach a two All-League honorees and two All-Newcomer players. During the 2016-17 season, Ignoto assisted the Leathernecks to a record-breaking and monumental season, which included seven regular season awards amongst four different players on the team in Emily Clemens (All-League First Team/Summit League Player of the Year), Morgan Blumer (All-League First Team/All Newcomer Team/Transfer of the Year), Taylor Higginbotham (All-League Second Team) and Olivia Braun (All-Newcomer Team). The Leathernecks also broke a total of 15 individual and team program records, and won The Summit League regular season and tournament championship, as well as the team's first NCAA Tournament berth in 22 years.
She recently served as a student assistant at Division II powerhouse Washburn University, where she recruited potential student athletes and assisted with individual workouts and skill development.
"We are thrilled to have Taylor join our staff. Her playing or coaching experience at the Division I, Division II, and Junior College levels have given her a diverse outlook on the game and how to run a program," said Gravina. "She is organized, knowledgeable about the game, and has a great personality. She buys into our core value of treating players with respect. She has already made a positive impact on our program."
She also played collegiately at Washburn. During her senior year, she started 24 out of 27 games and led her team in scoring at 14.0 points per game, which was 10th in the MIAA rankings. Ignoto also earned Honorable Mention All-MIAA. As a junior, she transferred to Washburn from Mineral Park Area College and played the second semester, averaging 12.3 points per game, which would have ranked 19th in the MIAA.
At Mineral Area College, she averaged 17.2 points per game and earned Honorable Mention All-America, as well as First Team All-Region and All-Conference. Prior to Mineral Area College, she played her freshman season at Southern Illinois University.
"I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to join JD Gravina and the rest of the coaching staff at Western Illinois University," said Ignoto. "I felt extremely welcomed and comfortable as soon as I arrived on campus. I truly believe we'll do some great things this upcoming season and I look forward to contributing to our success."
A native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., she earned her bachelor's degree in Social Work and minored in Psychology from Washburn University.
