Head Coach Alisa Kintner

Email: amkintner@widener.edu

Alisa DiBonaventura Kintner enters her 20th season as the Widener women’s basketball head coach in 2022-23. During her tenure, she has led her teams to four NCAA Tournament berths, guided the program to the only three 20-win seasons in its history, and mentored multiple All-Americans including Kate Dellinger, Jen Egee, and Devan Rimmer.

Kintner is coming off being named the MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career on the sidelines after guiding Widener to a 19-7 record, a 13-3 mark in MAC Commonwealth play, a second consecutive MAC Commonwealth Championship final appearance and an 11th conference title game appearance in school history. Under Kintner, the 13-3 record in MAC Commonwealth games by the team tied for the best conference record ever for a 16-game league slate after the 2020 team accomplished it as well. The Pride also had an 11-game winning streak during the season.  

The 2019-20 was truly a magical season for Widener, winning the second most games in program history, garnering the school’s first ever in-season top-25 ranking, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and had five individuals recognized by the conference in postseason awards. The Pride went 21-6 and finished second in the MAC Commonwealth at 13-3. WU entered the national polls mid-season for the first time, coming in at No. 24 in the D3hoops.com poll for Dec. 17. 

Rimmer was selected as an Honorable Mention All-America by the WBCA and was a First Team All-Conference performer for the second straight year. She finished her career third in scoring with 1,637 points and second in school history with 176 made three-pointers. Madison Ireland picked up Second Team All-Conference honors, led the league in assists, and graduated as the school’s all-time leader in helpers with 582. MAC Commonwealth accolades were also handed down to Erin Phelan and Jordan D’Ambrosio who were Honorable Mention and Rookie of the Year respectively. D’Ambrosio’s award was the third time in the last four seasons Widener has had the MACC’s top First Year player. The honors didn’t stop there as Kintner herself was named the conference Coach of the Year, her third such award.

The 2019-20 season came on the heels of a 2018-19 campaign that was also one of the best on record for the Pride, notching just the second 20-win season in program history. Rimmer was named First Team All-MAC Commonwealth, Madison Ireland garnered Second Team honors, and Erin Phelan was chosen as the conference Rookie of the Year. Widener competed in the MAC Commonwealth semifinals and advanced to the quarterfinals of the ECAC Division III Women’s Basketball Championship, following a First Round victory against Wilson.

The 2017-18 campaign saw Widener battle for a spot in th MAC Commonwealth playoffs as the team got solid contributions from a group of young players. Ireland was named Second Team All-Conference after leading the MACC and ranking 10th in NCAA Division III at 5.9 assists per game.

In 2015-16, Ally Ferrucci completed her rewrite the school record books. She graduated as the  Widener record holder for career assists (543) and broke her own program standard for single-season assists, dishing out 183 during her senior campaign. For her efforts, Ferrucci was named to the All-Conference First Team as well as the Academic All-Middle Atlantic Conference Team. A year prior, Ferrucci garnered Second Team MAC Commonwealth accolades and set a then program record with 148 assists for the year. 

Still talked about nearly a decade later, the 2012-13 Pride put together the best season of any women’s program in school history, advancing to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. The team amassed a 24-6 mark and set school records for overall and league wins (16) and became the first women’s program at Widener to win an NCAA Tournament game. The Pride beat four ranked teams, including No. 9 Catholic in the Second Round of NCAA Championship and No. 16 Messiah in the sectional semifinals. Kintner was named both the Commonwealth Conference and D3Hoops.com Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. In the final polls of the season following the tournament, Widener was ranked 12th by D3Hoops.com and 13th by the WBCA.

Kintner also graduated one of the most decorated student-athletes in Widener history that season in Kate Dellinger. The guard was a Capital One Academic All-American, a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American, and the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Performer of the Year twice, as well as the MAC’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year and a finalist for the Jostens Trophy. Dellinger, who was named the institution’s Female Athlete of the Year, graduated sixth in school history with 1,255 points, fourth with 759 rebounds, and received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

Her early seasons were also marked by success as Kintner guided the Pride to league titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in the 2003-04 and 2008-09 seasons. Both teams finished with an 18-10 overall record with Kintner named Commonwealth Conference Coach of the Year in 2009. That summer, she served as a head coach of a squad that competed as part of the USA Athletes International Tour in Barbados.

In addition, Kintner mentored Widener to appearances in the ECAC South Region Tournament 2004-05 and 2009-10. The Pioneers earned a victory against Gwynedd Mercy in the 2010 quarterfinals, the first ever win for the Blue and Gold in a national postseason tournament.

Kintner arrived at Widener after spending two seasons at Delaware Valley College, her alma mater, as an assistant coach. The Aggies went 16-12 in 2002 and reached the Freedom Conference championship game for the first time in school history. DVC upset seventh-ranked King’s in the semifinals before suffering a one-point loss to Scranton in the final. Delaware Valley went 11-16 the following year and reached the conference tournament for the fourth time in a five-year span, winning five of its last six games.

A member of the MAC Hall of Fame Class of 2020 and the Delaware Valley Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009, Kintner made her mark on the court as well with a storied playing career at DelVal from 1998-2001. She capped her senior season becoming the first Aggie in any sport to be named a Kodak All-American and also received citations as a D3Hoops.com All-American, the Freedom Conference co-Player of the Year and the ECAC South Region Player of the Year. Kintner dished out a conference record 237 assists that season and was also named to the All-Freedom Conference First Team after earning Second Team honors as a sophomore and junior. Delaware Valley in 2000-01 enjoyed a school-record 21-6 campaign that saw it advance to the Freedom Conference Tournament for the second time in three years. The Aggies won the ECAC title in 2001 with Kintner named tournament MVP.

A two-time captain, Kintner led the NCAA in assists by averaging 8.5 per game as a junior in 1999-2000 and 8.8 per contest as a senior in 2000-01. On Jan. 30, 1999, she notched a conference-record 17 assists against Lycoming to become the 11th player in NCAA history to reach that plateau. She finished her career with 636 career assists, which is still the highest mark in MAC and Delaware Valley history, and her career mark of 8.2 assists per game is third in the NCAA Division III annals. Kintner also holds two Delaware Valley single-season school records with 72 3-pointers in 2000-01 and 105 steals in 1998-99 after leading the Aggies to a 12-win improvement upon her arrival. She ranks sixth all-time in Delaware Valley history with 986 points and wrapped up her collegiate career with 1,131 points, including 145 as a first year player at Slippery Rock.

Kintner earned her bachelor’s degree from the DelVal in business education in 2001. She currently resides in Folsom with her husband, Joe, and daughters, Jordan and Olivia.