Catanzaro steps down as Riverview girls basketball coach after 4 seasons

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, April 15, 2025 | 5:13 PM

Jill Catanzaro stepped down Monday as coach of the Riverview girls basketball team after four seasons at the helm.

The decision, she said, was a difficult one because of her love of the game, her love of coaching and love of Riverview and its athletes. But when she thought about time she wanted to spend with family members — both older and younger — she felt it was a decision that was right for her at this time.

“Coaching, especially at the varsity level, you’re going full over the summer, and, of course, in the winter and also over holidays like Thanksgiving,” said Catanzaro, who guided the Raiders to the WPIAL playoffs in each of the past four years and compiled an overall record of 40-40.

“I haven’t had a Thanksgiving with my family in over 10 years. Family wasn’t able to come here, and we weren’t able to drive up there for a day. It was weighing on me, and I knew I wasn’t going to have this window of opportunity again.”

Catanzaro, who grew up near Williamsport and was a 2,000-point scorer at Loyalsock Township High School before playing Division I basketball at Pitt, hosted her parents recently and also traveled to Florida with her 86-year-old mother-in-law.

“I am so fortunate they are all relatively healthy, and we can still enjoy them. It was just time. There were a lot of sacrifices that came along with coaching,” she said. “But it was such a hard decision, because when you love something so much and it is part of your DNA your whole life, it’s hard to walk away. I will miss it.”

Catanzaro coached in Riverview School District 23 years from when her kids were young through junior high and then the varsity team.

She served six years as a varsity assistant to Keith Stitt through the challenging covid-affected 2020-21 season. The Raiders went 6-7 overall and 4-6 in Section 3-A and entered the open WPIAL tournament.

Stitt retired after the season, and, in July, Catanzaro was elevated to head coach.

Catanzaro said developing leadership qualities on and off the court was just as important as improving players’ skills on the hardwood.

She said her players were like family to her.

“We just had wonderful fellowship time together,” Catanzaro said. “I said at our banquet a few weeks ago that if we didn’t win the WPIAL or state championship but great memories were made all along the way, then that is the most important thing. It was about playing a part in the growth of kids becoming young adults.”

Riverview this past season went 14-5 overall and earned the No. 7 seed for the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs.

The Raiders led Rochester by double digits in their first-round game at Kiski Area, but the Rams rallied for a three-point victory. It was a heartbreaking and sudden end to the season and now marks Catanzaro’s final game on the Riverview sideline.

The team’s lone seniors — Kat Tsambis and Lily Bauer — made a profound impact on this year’s Riverview playoff-qualifying team.

Tsambis led the team in scoring at 18.3 points per game and was recognized as the Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year. She played in the Cager Classic all-star game and will represent the Raiders at the Roundball Classic next month at Geneva College.

Bauer joined Tsambis at the Cager Classic, and, on Tuesday, she was nominated for the WPIAL’s James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award which presents a $1,000 scholarship to 20 winners who shine in the categories of athletics, academics and school and community service.

Catanzaro said she wouldn’t rule out a return to high school coaching one day.

While the athletic department and the school district administration handle the process of hiring the next girls basketball coach, Catanzaro said she will have everything well organized and written out so it will be a smooth transition for whomever takes over.

“I want them to succeed immediately and have every resource available to them,” she said.

Catanzaro said she is confident the returning players, led by current juniors Isabel Chaparro and Lana Lynch, will take the lead for the team and keep it going strong.

“I know they will rise to the challenge with their abilities and their leadership,” she said.

Athletic director Andre Carter, who also served this past season with Catanzaro as an assistant, said he will remember simply how much Catanzaro cared.

“That stood out to me so much, with how well she communicated with the girls and how she motivated them and got the most out of them,” said Carter, who first developed a connection and friendship when he went up against her as the head coach at Leechburg.

“There were so many things she did to make sure the girls knew how much they were valued. Her shoes will be hard to fill, for sure.”

Carter said the search for the new coach should begin soon, with someone in place before the summer workouts and leagues begin.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Riverview