College of Staten Island Athletics

In 1996, the Dolphins needed to find a centerpiece to a program that had garnered just two CUNYAC Championships in the past 17 years to that point.  They found it in St. Peter’s High School product Tara Gagliardo, a true point guard expected to quarterback the Dolphins to new found promise over the next four years.  The job promised a lot of pressure and responsibility, but as time would show, not much could hold the guard back.
 
Gagliardo hit the hardwood running, literally.  Her up-tempo and extremely aggressive defensive game changed the complexion of the team from the start, and in her freshman season, she would end up the starter in 18 games, playing in all 27 contests, registering team-highs with 64 assists, 89 steals, an 8.8 points per game average and a 3.9 rebounds per game mark.  The Dolphins allowed just 45.5 points per contest, to this day an all-time low, and at the end of it all, Gagliardo earned All-Star and All-Tournament citations en route to a CUNYAC Championship win over John Jay College.
 
That then set the table for a fantastic career.  Gagliardo would never miss another game or another start.  In 1997-98 she ballooned her points per game production to 13.1, registering a then school-record 158 assists and 102 steals, earning 1st-team All-Star honors.  But the Dolphins found a new rival with Hunter College, and the Hawks ruptured CSI’s chances at a repeat in the Final.  In 1998-99, amidst more gaudy numbers that included a career-high 153 rebounds and 35 three-pointers, Gagliardo, her unit, and new Head Coach Marguerite Moran suffered another defeat in the CUNYAC title game against Hunter, leaving one more attempt at the title her senior year.
 
Not willing to be denied, Gagliardo saved her best for last.  In 1999-00 the senior posted career highs with 384 points (13.7 pg.), 179 rebounds (6.4 pg.), 178 assists and 64 three-point buckets.  She led the team with 74 steals and earned Tournament MVP honors after a 26-point performance in the CUNYAC Final, a win over arch-rival Hunter.
 
By the time her career was over, Gagliardo was the school leader with 1,310 points, since broken, but at the time of her induction she remains the school’s all-time leader with 537 assists and 333 steals.  She remains tied for CSI’s all-time single season record with 178 assists, and her 17 assists in a single game in 2000 remains a school record.  Perhaps more than anything, however, her coaches will argue that she introduced a winning discipline within the program that set a trajectory for the sport that continues to this day.