Stringer, U.S. Team Begin Olympics With Victory
Aug 14 | Women's Basketball
ATHENS, GREECE – Rutgers women’s basketball head coach C. Vivian Stringer and the 2004 U.S. Women’s Basketball Olympic Team kicked off its Athens Games schedule with a 99-47 victory against New Zealand Aug. 14. Stringer is serving as an assistant coach for the two-time defending gold medalist U.S. team.
After spotting the Kiwis a 7-0 lead, the Americans ripped off a 17-2 run to end the first quarter, and another 29-4 spurt to end the half. The U.S. defense translated 20 first-half New Zealand turnovers into easy transition baskets, quickly running away with the game. Swin Cash came off the bench to lead the Americans with 19 points.
The next test for the U.S. will be the Czech Republic Monday, Aug. 16. That game will be shown on the USA Network at 8:00 a.m. The game against the Czechs will mark the second of five pool-play games for the Americans.
Stringer, who will begin her 33rd season on the college sidelines this fall, owns the fourth-highest victory total in women’s college basketball history (695-239), including a 175-104 mark in her nine seasons at Rutgers. A member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, the three-time national coach of the year remains the only coach, men’s or women’s, to lead three different schools to the NCAA Tournament Final Four (Cheyney in 1982, Iowa in 1993 and Rutgers in 2000).
