BALTIMORE – A pair of college coaches have joined the Loyola University Maryland women's basketball staff as assistant coaches for the 2026-27 season, Head Coach Danielle O'Banion announced today.
 
Matt Allen and Abby Anderson will serve as assistant coaches for the Greyhounds, joining O'Banion and Assistant Coach Diana Martinez on the bench for Loyola.
 
Allen comes to Loyola with an accomplished college coaching resume, having served as a head and assistant coach at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels. Most recently, Allen was an assistant women's basketball coach at Shippensburg University from 2022-26.
 
In 2024, Allen participated in the WBCA Next Generation Institute as one of 32 selections from across all NCAA divisions to take part in the high-level education program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become head coaches.
 
He helped the Raiders to a 25-win season in 2022 with an 18-4 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) while coaching the league's all-time leading scorer, Ariel Jones, who finished her career as an NCAA Division II All-American after scoring 2,806 points. Shippensburg advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Region Semifinals that season, as well.
 
Prior to his time at Shippensburg, Allen was the head coach at Wilson College, an NCAA Division III school in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, from 2016-21. He guided the Phoenix to its best record in 17 years with a 16-12 mark in 2018-19 while reaching the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) semifinals and the ECAC Championship.
 
He was the head men's basketball coach at SUNY Cobleskill from 2008-16, leading the program's transition from NJCAA to NCAA Division III in 2012. He guided the Fighting Tigers to the Northeast Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship in 2014-15 and the school's first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
Allen was on the bench at six NCAA men's basketball programs before becoming a head coach, serving as an associate head coach at Lehigh (2007-08), his alma mater Wofford (2004-07), Western Carolina (2003-04), Dartmouth (2002-03), Campbell (2001-02) and Wingate (1997-01). He was the associate head coach at both Lehigh and Wofford during his tenures and helped those respective schools in the recruiting of classes that would win Patriot League and Southern Conference titles.
 
He is a 1994 graduate of Wofford with a Bachelor of Arts in political economy and philosophy, and he earned his Master of Science in organizational development and leadership with a concentration in higher education structure at Shippensburg in 2023.
 
Anderson is a former NCAA Division III All-American player who has been a member of the women's basketball staff at the University of Pittsburgh since 2022.
 
She began her tenure there as the assistant director of recruiting 2022-23 before moving on to serve as director of operations from 2023-25 and, most recently, as an assistant coach and director of player development in 2025-26.
 
While she was on staff with the Panthers, Pittsburgh players earned three All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team honors, an All-ACC Freshman Team award and an ACC Most Improved Player Award. Anderson also assisted in recruiting the top-ranked recruiting class in program history.
 
Anderson played at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York, from 2017-21 and was a four-time Northeast Conference Academic Honor Roll member who also received the 2019-20 Women's Basketball Coaches' Award. In 90 games with the Terriers, she averaged 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds.
 
She graduated from St. Francis with a Bachelor of Science in accounting with a minor in information technology, and she then played her final year of college basketball at the University of Scranton where in 2023 she earned a Master of Science in finance.
 
At Scranton, Anderson led the Royals in scoring (17.6 ppg), rebounding (9.2 rpg) and assists (2.9 apg), earning WBCA and D3Hoops All-America recognition while also picking up All-Landmark Conference and D3Hoops All-Region honors. She was also named to the WBCA Division III Senior All-Star Team and earned a spot on the WBCA Ring of Honor.