BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo women's basketball head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald has secured two-thirds of her assistant coaching staff with the hiring of Kelly Morrone as the third assistant and the retention of Evelyn Thompson as the first assistant and recruiting coordinator.

Morrone was a four-year letterwinner at South Carolina, including two years when Hill-MacDonald was an assistant coach. She played in 114 career games, starting 70, and averaged 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. As a senior in 2003-04, Morrone tied for the team lead in scoring with 11.7 points, and she netted a career-high 31 points in a win over Mercer on November 26, 2003. Morrone was also the Gamecocks' top three-point shooter, making 40.7 percent of her shots from behind the arc (81-for-199). For her career, she made 234 three-pointers and had a 36.9 three-point shooting percentage. Her career high in three-pointers (eight) came against Duke on November 25, 2001. Other career highs included 10 rebounds against Mississippi on February 5, 2004 and 11 assists against Wofford on December 4, 2002. Morrone was a three-year team captain and helped the Gamecocks to appearances in the NCAA Tournament and to Top 20 rankings in both 2001-02 and 2002-03. South Carolina was ranked 12th in the nation and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2001-02.

A native of Syracuse, NY, Morrone graduated from South Carolina in May of 2003 with a degree in sport and entertainment management and began pursuing a master's degree while completing her playing career in 2003-04. She began her coaching career in 2004-05 as the assistant girl's varsity basketball coach at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, SC.

"Kelly brings great energy and enthusiasm to our program," said Hill-MacDonald. "I'm excited for her accepting and getting started in her new position."

Thompson has been as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Buffalo for the past three seasons, helping to bring Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy), the 2004-05 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, to Buffalo. Thompson has seven years of Division I coaching experience and an impressive playing background that includes two appearances in the NCAA Division I title game with Auburn University (1988-89 and 1989-90). She was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at both Arizona State (1990-93) and at Western Kentucky (1993-94) before coming to Buffalo prior to the 2002-03 season. She earned her bachelor's degree in English from Auburn in 1990.

"Evelyn was certainly the most qualified person for this position and I'm very happy that she has decided to stay at UB and continue her responsibilities as our recruiting coordinator," said Hill-MacDonald. "The maturity and experience she adds to our staff is something I was looking for, and Evelyn more than fulfills my expectation."