Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball

Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball
2025–26 Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball team
University	Rutgers University–New Brunswick
Head coach	Coquese Washington (4th season)
Conference	Big Ten
Location	Piscataway, New Jersey
Arena	Jersey Mike's Arena (capacity: 8,000)
Nickname	Scarlet Knights
Colors	Scarlet [1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament runner-up
2007
Other NCAA tournament results Final Four 2000, 2007 Elite Eight 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008 Sweet Sixteen 1986, 1987, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 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
Other AIAW tournament results Final Four 1982 Elite Eight 1982 Appearances 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982
Conference tournament champions
A-10: 1987, 1988, 1993, 1994 Big East: 2007
Conference regular-season champions
1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006

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]}

History

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

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

Career leaders

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Mael Gilles   Canada: 2017 Summer Universiade ^[5]
• Kahleah Copper   United States 2024 Paris Olympics ^[6]

Coaching history

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

NCAA Division I

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

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

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.

External links

• Official website