Erin Phillips DiGello '02

Erin Phillips DiGello is one of the most accomplished female athletes and women’s basketball players in Penn State Behrend history. Not only did she become the all-time leader in points scored with 1,581 but she is also the first and only women’s basketball player to earn All-America status.

The 5-11 Erie, Pa., native accomplished more during her freshman campaign than most will in a four-year career. Phillips filled the final spot in the starting line-up during the 1998-99 season and proved that was where she belongs. The newcomer shot 56.9 percent from the floor, ranking second best in program history, while averaging 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds. Phillips’ dominant force in the frontcourt led to the Lions’ first-ever conference championship, earning her AMCC Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-Conference. 

In 1999-2000, Phillips led Behrend to a 19-8 overall record and its sixth ECAC bid. She registered the third most free throws made in a season with 140, ending with 362 points, just two shy of her freshman year mark of 364. Phillips finished the year with 13.4 points per game and was named to the All-AMCC first team. 

Intrinsically motivated and virtually impossible to guard, Phillips averaged 14.1 points and shot an impressive 53.3 percent from the floor her junior year. She was clutch from the charity stripe, going 112-for-136 (.824) to help her nearly reach 400 points for the season and become the first women’s basketball player to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau as a junior. For the second straight year, Phillips earned All-AMCC first-team honors while Behrend received its second invitation to the NCAA Tournament. By the end of the season, her name was already etched into the record books for all-time free throws made and field-goal percentage. 

Phillips took her unprecedented talents to new heights in 2001-02, leading the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game and shooting 56.1 percent from the field. Phillips concluded her career by smashing six records, including career points (1,581), scoring average (14.8 ppg), field-goal percentage (.539), free-throws made (513), free-throw attempts (654) and scoring in a season (473 – 2001-02). She was named the Cheryl Ramsdell-Anderson Female Athlete of the Year, AMCC Player of the Year, First-Team All-Conference, Team MVP, ECAC Second-Team All-Star and Division III News All-American Honorable Mention. 

Phillips was crowned the all-time leading scorer for both men and women, a record that held for two straight years. She currently is third in Behrend basketball history.