Stringer reaches milestone as Rutgers tops South Florida
Uconn routs Pittsburgh 73-36
WASHINGTON, Feb 27, (AP): Not much has come easily for C. Vivian Stringer during her Hall of Fame coaching career. So it was fitting that it took her five tries to become the fourth women’s basketball coach to have 900 victories. She finally reached the milestone Tuesday night with Rutgers’ 68-56 win over South Florida.
‘’When I look back on my life, this team, probably this year, best reflects what 900 has been,’’ she said. ‘’It helped me to remember that it was never easy. But unless you really have a passion, unless you really know how fortunate you are not to have had a lot of major injuries to a lot of players, which is what happened to this team, and unless you remember how fortunate you are to be able to get to those special places.’’ 900 victories: Mike Krzyzewski, Bob Knight and Jim Boeheim.
‘’I am fortunate to call Vivian my friend and could not be happier that she has reached the 900-win milestone in her career. I have great respect and admiration for Vivian and consider her one of the great pioneers of our game,’’ Summitt said in a statement. ‘’She has had an incredible journey, and I hope she adds many more to her ‘W’ column!’’
Stringer, who was the first coach in men’s or women’s basketball to take three different schools to the Final Four — including Rutgers in 2000 and ‘07 — fought back tears as her team celebrated their coach’s achievement.
‘’I think it’s beyond words,’’ said Stringer, whose record stands at 900-330 in 42 seasons. ‘’I’m happy that it’s over. I can hardly breathe. It’s over and now I can just coach and smile, and get back to what I love to do because it’s never been about numbers.’’
During the four-game losing streak, Stringer admitted she was tired of talking about when she’d get No. 900. She was getting worn out by it, even snapping at reporters during a media session.
Her demeanor changed after a loss to St. John’s on Saturday, the game before Tuesday’s landmark victory. Stringer said she received a call from Hatchell, who reached 900 wins on Feb. 7.
The longtime friends talked about the pressures their players faced while trying to get that 900th win. It took Hatchell’s team two tries to get her that victory.
‘’She is probably one of the few people I would talk to about it,’’ Stringer said, ‘’and she was just saying it was highly stressful for her, too. Finally when they were over it, (the players) were much better because they were really uptight.’’
UConn 76, Pittsburgh 36 In Hartford, Conn, Breanna Stewart hopes she’s rounding back into form at just the right time for No. 3 Connecticut.
The star freshman scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots in helping UConn (26-2, 13-1 Big East) close out its home schedule with a 76-36 rout of Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
Stewart has 31 points in her last two games after scoring just 43 over the Huskies first six games in February. That included a scoreless night in the Huskies home loss to top-ranked Baylor just over a week ago.