Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball

Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
	2024–25 Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball team
University	Rutgers University–New Brunswick
Head coach	Coquese Washington (3rd season)
Conference	Big Ten
Location	Piscataway, New Jersey
Arena	Jersey Mike's Arena ; (capacity: 8,000)
Nickname	Scarlet Knights
Colors	Scarlet;
Uniforms
Home	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

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

No.	Player	Date of retirement	Career
Rutgers Scarlet Knights retired numbers
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

^ "Colors | Visual Identity System". Retrieved April 6, 2017.
^ "Women's Basketball – Rutgers University". www.scarletknights.com.
^ "2015-2016 Women's Basketball Guide" (PDF). Rutgers. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
^ "Women's Basketball: 2021-22 Media Guide" (PDF). Rutgers. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
^ "29th Summer Universiade 2017 Main Results". fisu.net. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
^ 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

[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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball
Venues	College Avenue Gymnasium (1974–1977) Jersey Mike's Arena (1977–present)
Rivalries	Princeton UConn
Culture & lore	History
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
AIAW and NCAA national championships in bold; AIAW and NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

v t e Big Ten Conference women's basketball
Teams	Illinois Fighting Illini Indiana Hoosiers Iowa Hawkeyes Maryland Terrapins Michigan Wolverines Michigan State Spartans Minnesota Golden Gophers Nebraska Cornhuskers Northwestern Wildcats Ohio State Buckeyes Oregon Ducks Penn State Lady Lions Purdue Boilermakers Rutgers Scarlet Knights UCLA Bruins USC Trojans Washington Huskies Wisconsin Badgers
Championships & awards	Regular season champions Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament Coach of the Year Player of the Year Freshman of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball (defunct)
Seasons	1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25