New UMass Lowell women’s head basketball coach Brianna Finch has been busy putting her stamp on the program as the spring and summer move along. Recently, the assistant coaching staff and Director of Basketball Operations positions were filled by Sherill Baker, Didier Dinh, Meagan Morelli, and Sydney Avoletta.

Sherill Baker was on staff with Finch at George Washington last season, which marked Baker’s second tour of duty at GW. Her duties centered around recruiting, player development, and the day-to-day operations of the program. She also spent a couple of years at Bucknell in the Patriot League, where she served as an Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Additionally, Baker has spent time on the coaching staffs at Georgia State and Kennesaw State, and originally began her coaching career at Auburn.

Didier Dinh joins the River Hawks after serving as an assistant coach at Merrimack for the last couple of seasons, where he was heavily involved in recruiting and operations. Before that, he spent three years as the head women’s basketball coach at Eastern Nazarene College (ENC), where he compiled a 36-36 record and won a conference championship in his first season. Dinh has also made coaching stops at Gordon College, Norwich University, and Wheelock College, following a standout collegiate playing career in which he was a 1,000-point scorer.

Meagan Morelli comes to Lowell after three years as an assistant coach at the University of Bridgeport. During her final season with the Purple Knights, the team posted a 10-16 overall record (8-12 in league play), marking their highest win total since the 2018-19 season and advancing to the conference tournament quarterfinals. Before making the jump to coaching, Morelli played Division I basketball at Fairfield University.

Sydney Avoletta also transitions to the River Hawks from GW, where she served as a graduate assistant for the past two years. After working in a variety of support roles during her time at George Washington, she will serve as the Director of Basketball Operations at UMass Lowell. Avoletta played four years of collegiate basketball, splitting her time between Iona and NC Central, spending her first two seasons with the Gaels.

The new-look coaching staff inherits a River Hawks squad looking to rebound from an 8-21 overall record and a 2-14 mark in America East play last season, which left the team out of the postseason tournament.