Bridget Catanese Paluga '08, a three-time Empire 8 All-Conference honoree, returned to her alma mater to serve as Elmira College's Head Women's Basketball Coach for the 2020-21 season.
A four-year starter for the Soaring Eagles, Paluga was a member of two of the best EC teams in the past 20 years. She helped Elmira reach the Empire 8 Conference tournament championship and qualify for the ECAC Tournament in both her sophomore and junior seasons. In 2005-06, the Soaring Eagles finished 19-11 (10-4 E8) and advanced all the way to the ECACÂ Tournament title game. The following season, Paluga's team finished one win shy of the program single-season record at 21-7 (12-2 E8), before falling in overtime to Ithaca College in the E8 championship.
After graduation, Paluga began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Gallaudet University, a Division III institution in Washington, D.C., for deaf and hard of hearing students. She then joined the staff as the top assistant at Stevens Institute of Technology, where she spent three seasons with the Ducks from 2010-13. During her time at Stevens, the Ducks captured the 2011 Empire 8 Championship and earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament. In her other two seasons, the team qualified for the ECAC Tournament, including a run to the ECAC Metro title game in 2012. Paluga's resume also includes one year as an assistant coach at Division II Mansfield University during the 2013-14 campaign.
Paluga received a bachelor's degree in Psychology from EC in 2008. She earned her first master's degree in Supervision and Administration from Gallaudet in 2010, and in 2015, she graduated with a master's in Education from Ithaca. Her husband, Corey Paluga, helped build Elmira's baseball program and has served as the team's head coach since its inaugural season in 2015.
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