Girls basketball: Tiffany Gonigam to return as Princeton coach

When Tiffany Gonigam resigned as the Princeton High School varsity girls basketball coach in 2021, she said she didn’t know if it was going to be for a 30-second timeout or a full timeout.

It proved to be just a 30.

Gonigam will return to her former position, PHS athletic director Jeff Ohlson said, pending school board approval at next week’s meeting.

She succeeds Darcy Kepner, who resigned after two years for “her mental health and family issues.”

“The opportunity came up, and I thought it would be a good time to see how coaching fit in while having a young family,” Gonigam said.

First practices will be held Oct. 30. Gonigam has open gyms scheduled until then.

Gonigam called a timeout after the abbreviated 2021 spring season, anticipating the birth of her daughter, Quimby, on the eve of the 2021-22 season. She will turn 2 next week.

During her first run at PHS, Gonigam compiled a 48-73 record from 2016 to 2021.

Gonigam was head basketball coach at rival Bureau Valley, her alma mater, for four years from 2012 to 2016, going 42-71.

She previously was head volleyball coach for Bureau Valley.

Kepner, 25, directed PHS to its best two-year stretch at 48-7, going 21-2 and 27-5. Her Tigresses also won the first conference championships in program history.

Kepner played for Gonigam at Bureau Valley and followed her to coach at PHS. She remains as eighth-grade coach for Logan Junior High.