Rutgers Women's Basketball Holds Annual Banquet
Apr 10 | Women's Basketball
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - The Rutgers women’s basketball program hosted its annual Hall of Fame and awards banquet April 9 at the Hyatt New Brunswick.
Cheryl Cop (’93) was inducted into the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Cop, a native of Elizabeth, NJ, helped lead the Knights to four NCAA Tournament berths (1990-93), the 1993 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament title and started 87 out of a possible 94 games during her career. A member of the 1990 Atlantic 10 All-Freshman Team and Bell Atlantic Holiday Tournament Team (1989), she finished her career sixth in all-time free-throw percentage (.766) and was a three-time team Scholar-Athlete (1991-93) during her time “On the Banks.” A team captain both her junior and senior years Cop, who earned a spot on the 1991 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team, averaged 7.9 points and 3.2 assists per game during her career, leading the team in free-throw percentage (.880) as a freshman, in assists (3.5 apg) and free-throw percentage (.805) as a sophomore, in field-goal percentage (.561) as a junior, and sharing the team lead in assists (3.1 apg) as a senior. Cop was labeled as most courageous for returning from a season-ending knee injury and Type I diabetes diagnosis during her freshman year. In 1993 she won the Headley-Singer Award, given annually to the most outstanding graduating female athlete at Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights also recognized outstanding performances during the 2005-2006 season, one that found No. 9/9 Rutgers post a 27-5 overall record, advancing to the regional semifinals of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights posted a perfect 16-0 mark in BIG EAST Conference regular-season play to win their second straight outright BIG EAST regular-season crown.
Fifth-year senior Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) was named the Most Valuable Player and the winner of the Collins Award, given annually to the player showing the greatest improvement academically. The 2006 Women’s Basketball News Service National Player of the Year, Pondexter was a finalist for all three major national player-of-the-year awards (State Farm Wade Trophy, Naismith and Women’s Wooden Award), the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award and the Nancy Lieberman Award (top point guard). She averaged 21.6 points per contest (sixth nationally), adding 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game this season. Named to the Kodak/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America First Team, the Associated Press All-America First Team, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America Team, the Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team, the Women’s Wooden Award All-America Team, the Gballmag.com All-America First Team and the ESPN.com All-America First Team, the WBCA National Player of the Month for January was the unanimous choice as the BIG EAST Player of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to be named to the All-BIG EAST First Team four times during her career. The 5-9 guard was selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team for the fourth straight year (22.5 ppg) and earned a spot on the NCAA Tournament All-Cleveland Region Team (22.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.3 apg). She was the second overall selection in the 2006 WNBA Draft (Phoenix Mercury), and is currently competing with the USA Basketball Senior National Team at the Opals World Challenge in Australia.
Sophomore Matee Ajavon (Newark, NJ) was selected as the Offensive Player of the Year. The 5-8 guard averaged 12.6 points and team bests of 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals per game. A member of the All-BIG EAST First Team, Ajavon was a preseason candidate for the Naismith National Player of the Year Award.
Sophomore Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ) was picked as the Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-0 guard averaged 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest, was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Senior Michelle Campbell (Princeton, NJ) was the recipient of the Coaches’ Award and the Cagers Award. The 6-2 forward averaged 8.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest, scoring her 1,000th career point Feb. 19 against Syracuse.
Redshirt senior Mariota Theodoris (Riviera Beach, FL) received the Chelsea Newton Scarlet Heart Award and was named the team’s Most Courageous Player. Theodoris averaged 2.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest this season, and battled through injuries to play in 106 career contests.
Freshman Kia Vaughn (Bronx, NY) was selected as the team’s Most Improved Player. The 6-4 center posted 6.3 points to go along with team bests of 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game. During the final 17 games of the season, she averaged 7.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per contest.
Sophomore Katie Adams (Ogden, UT) was selected as the Most Inspirational Player. The 5-10 guard appeared in 19 games, averaging 0.6 point per contest.
Senior Courtney Locke (San Marcos, TX) won the Scholar-Athlete Award. The 5-7 guard played in 30 games this season, averaging 1.6 points while registering a 1.86 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Cagers Club recognized Frank and Pat Piazza with its Service Award. Senior Pei Chao (Somerset, NJ) was selected as the Manager of the Year.
