Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing Rutgers University–New Brunswick. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Scarlet Knights play home basketball games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on the university campus in Piscataway, New Jersey.[2][3]

Rutgers Scarlet Knights
women's basketball
2024–25 Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball team
UniversityRutgers University–New Brunswick
Head coachCoquese Washington (3rd season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationPiscataway, New Jersey
ArenaJersey Mike's Arena
(capacity: 8,000)
NicknameScarlet Knights
ColorsScarlet[1]
 
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


NCAA tournament runner-up
2007
NCAA tournament Final Four
2000, 2007
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1986, 1987, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
NCAA tournament second round
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015
NCAA tournament appearances
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021
AIAW tournament champions
1982
AIAW tournament Final Four
1982
AIAW tournament Elite Eight
1982
AIAW tournament appearances
1979, 1980, 1981, 1982
Conference tournament champions
1987, 1988, 1993, 1994, 2006
Conference regular season champions
1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006

History

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The Scarlet Knights (known as the Lady Knights until 1995) began play in 1974, winning their first ever game against Princeton 76–60. In 1976, Theresa Shank Grentz was hired as head coach, becoming the first full-time female basketball coach. The Scarlet Knights won the AIAW National Tournament 83–77 over Texas at the Palestra with the help of Restrepo-Pinero, who scored 30 points while being named MVP. In 2007, C. Vivian Stringer became the first coach to ever lead three teams (including Rutgers) to the Final Four.

Retired Numbers

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Rutgers Scarlet Knights retired numbers
No. Player Date of retirement Career
23 Sue Wicks April 26, 1998 1984–1988
25 Cappie Pondexter December 1, 2016 2002–2006 [4]
45 June Olkowski January 2, 1988 1978–1982

All-Time Statistical Leaders

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Career leaders

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  • Points scored: 2,655 (Sue Wicks – 1984–88)
  • Assists: 839 (Tasha Pointer – 1997-01)
  • Rebounds: 1,357 (Sue Wicks – 1984–88)
  • Steals: 294 (Cappie Pondexter – 2002–06)
  • Blocks: 332 (Rachel Hollivay – 2012–2016)

Single season leaders

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  • Points scored: 793 (Sue Wicks- 1987–88)
  • Assists: 257 (Tasha Pointer – 2000–01)
  • Rebounds: 404 (Sue Wicks – 1986–87)
  • Steals: 117 (Liz Hanson – 1993–94)
  • Blocks: 127 (Rachel Hollivay – 2013–14)

Single game leaders

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  • Points scored: (44 by Sue Wicks vs George Washington −12/05/1987)
  • Assists: (18 by Tasha Pointer vs Stephen F. Austin – 03/17/2001)
  • Rebounds: (26 by Sandy Tupurins vs William Paterson – 03/01/1977)
  • Steals: (10 by Syessence Davis vs Penn State – 01/10/2015 & 10 by Denise Kenney vs Saint Joseph’s – 02/16/1978)
  • Blocks: (11 by Sue Wicks vs West Virginia – 01/03/1987)

Awards and honors

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  • Naismith/U.S. Basketball Writers Association/Women’s Basketball News Service/Street & Smith’s National Player of the Year – Sue Wicks, 1988 winner.
  • Big East Conference Coach of the Year – C. Vivian Stringer, 1998 & 2005.
  • Atlantic-10 Conference Coach of the Year – Theresa Grentz, 1986, 1988 (co), 1993, & 1994.

International

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Coaching history

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As of the beginning of the 2024–25 season, the Knights have had five head coaches and two interim coaches.

Coach Tenure Record Conference record
Ellen Johns 1974–1975 6–5 n/a
Dottie McCrea 1975–1976 5–9 n/a
Theresa Grentz 1976–1995 434–150 156–28
C. Vivian Stringer 1995–2022 477–267 243–136†
Coquese Washington 2022-present 18-31 5-17
Carlene Mitchell (interim) 2010 1–0 0–0
Timothy Eatman (interim) 2018
Totals 941–462 404–181

† Denotes combined conference record (202–94 record with the Big East Conference (1979-2013), 12–6 record with the American Athletic Conference, and 19–15 record with the Big Ten Conference)

Postseason results

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NCAA Division I

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Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1986 #2 Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#7 Villanova
#3 Penn State
#4 W. Kentucky
W 85–58
W 85–72
L 74–89
1987 #2 Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#7 Duke
#3 NC State
#1 Texas
W 78–64
W 75–60
L 77–85
1988 #3 Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#6 Old Dominion
#2 Virginia
W 88–78
L 75–89
1989 #7 First Round
Second Round
#10 Southern Miss
#2 NC State
W 95–73
L 73–75
1990 #11 First Round #6 Vanderbilt L 75–78
1991 #6 First Round #11 Toledo L 65–83
1992 #8 First Round
Second Round
#9 Southern Miss
#1 Tennessee
W 93–63
L 56–97
1993 #9 First Round
Second Round
#8 Vermont
#1 Ohio State
W 80–74
L 60–91
1994 #5 First Round #12 W. Kentucky L 73–84
1998 #5 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#12 Oregon
#4 Iowa State
#1 Tennessee
W 79–76
W 62–61
L 60–92
1999 #3 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#14 Dartmouth
#6 Arizona
#2 Texas Tech
#1 Purdue
W 84–70
W 90–47
W 53–42
L 62–75
2000 #2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
#15 Holy Cross
#10 St. Joseph's
#11 UAB
#1 Georgia
#1 Tennessee
W 91–70
W 59–39
W 60–45
W 59–51
L 54–64
2001 #4 First Round
Second Round
#13 Stephen F. Austin
#5 SW Missouri State
W 80–43
L 53–60
2003 #4 First Round
Second Round
#13 W. Kentucky
#5 Georgia
W 64–52
L 64–74
2004 #7 First Round #10 Chattanooga L 69–74
2005 #3 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#14 Hartford
#6 Temple
#2 Ohio State
#1 Tennessee
W 62–37
W 61–54
W 64–58
L 49–59
2006 #3 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#14 Dartmouth
#11 TCU
#2 Tennessee
W 63–58
W 82–48
L 69–76
2007 #4 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
Title Game
#13 East Carolina
#5 Michigan State
#1 Duke
#3 Arizona State
#3 LSU
#1 Tennessee
W 77–34
W 70–57
W 53–52
W 64–45
W 59–35
L 46–59
2008 #2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
#15 Robert Morris
#7 Iowa State
#6 George Washington
#1 Connecticut
W 85–42
W 69–58
W 53–42
L 56–66
2009 #7 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
#10 VCU
#2 Auburn
#6 Purdue
W 57–51
W 80–52
L 61–67
2010 #9 First Round #8 Iowa L 63–70
2011 #7 First Round
Second Round
#10 Louisiana Tech
#2 Texas A&M
W 76–51
L 48–70
2012 #6 First Round #11 Gonzaga L 73–86
2015 #8 First Round
Second Round
#9 Seton Hall
#1 Connecticut
W 79–66
L 55–91
2019 #7 First Round #10 Buffalo L 71–82
2021 #6 First Round #11 BYU L 66–69

AIAW Division I

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The Scarlet Knights made four appearances in the AIAW National Division I basketball tournament, with a combined record of 7–4.

Year Round Opponent Result
1979 First Round
Quarterfinals
Tennessee
Long Beach State
W, 73–66
L, 51–69
1980 First Round
Quarterfinals
Central Missouri State
Providence
Old Dominion
W, 87–75
W, 70–54
L, 62–84
1981 First Round
Quarterfinals
Clemson
Long Beach State
W, 99–76
L, 73–77
1982 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship Game
Georgia Southern
Minnesota
Villanova
Texas
W, 89–79
W, 83–75
W, 83–75
W, 83–77

References

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  1. ^ "Colors | Visual Identity System". Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  2. ^ "Women's Basketball – Rutgers University". www.scarletknights.com.
  3. ^ "2015-2016 Women's Basketball Guide" (PDF). Rutgers. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
  4. ^ "Women's Basketball: 2021-22 Media Guide" (PDF). Rutgers. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  5. ^ "29th Summer Universiade 2017 Main Results". fisu.net. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  6. ^ Dure, Beau (August 11, 2024). "US survive France charge to clinch eighth consecutive basketball gold medal – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
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