2021-22 Women's Basketball Roster
Roster
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
Jersey Number 35
Sayawni Lassiter
- Position:
- G
- Height:
- 5-10
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- Hometown:
- Boston, Mass.
- High School:
- Newton North
- Prev School:
- Florida State
- Major:
- Financial Analysis
Career Stats
HONORS
- Two-time ACC Academic Honor Roll.
- Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Third Team.
REDSHIRT SENIOR SEASON (2021-22 at Rutgers):
- Played in all 31 games with 18 starts in her first season as a Scarlet Knight.
- Averaged 4.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in an average of 19.0 minutes per contest.
- Reached double-digit scoring in five games, including a career and season-high 18 in a victory at Illinois (Feb. 27).
- Posted a career game at No. 23 Ohio State (Feb. 7), making a career-high five three-point field goals (5-of-8) and grabbing a career-high seven rebounds.
- Grabbed a career-high five steals in two games - vs. Fairfield (Nov. 14) and at Purdue (Jan. 2).
- Ranked 15th in the Big Ten with 1.5 steals per game
REDSHIRT JUNIOR SEASON (2020-21 at Florida State):
- Became one of FSU’s most valuable players off the bench in the 2020-21 season.
- Averaged 2.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 13 minutes.
- Went 3-of-3 from long range and had nine points at Georgia Tech on Jan. 24.
- Played 10+ minutes in 10 games in 2020-21, including a stretch of nine of 10 games when FSU was undermanned due to injury.
- Recorded three points and two rebounds at Louisville.
- Tied career high with five rebounds at North Carolina.
- Put up nine points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal at Miami.
- Balanced her hectic basketball schedule while emerging as one of Northwestern Mutual’s top interns in 2020-21.
- Earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance in the Spring 2021.
- Transferred to Rutgers in the Spring 2021.
REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE SEASON (2019-20 at Florida State):*
- Missed the 2019-20 season due to a knee injury.
REDSHIRT FRESHMAN SEASON (2018-19 at Florida State):
• Played in 27 games off the bench, averaging 13.0 minutes per game.
• Had four games with 20+ minutes played (career-high 24 minutes vs. NC State on Feb. 7).
• Averaged 2.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and shot 80 percent (20-of-25) from the free throw line.
• Posted a strong 1.4 assist/turnover ratio with some ball-handling duties off the bench.
• Career-high five rebounds in NCAA First Round game vs. Bucknell.
• Four points and four boards vs. No. 9 NC State.
• Added a career-best six assists vs. Wake Forest.
• Career-high 11 points, including 8-of-8 from the free throw line, in win vs. Miami.
• Recorded seven points and three assists at Boston College.
• Totaled seven points in 18 minutes vs. Georgia State.
• Drilled three 3-pointers in win over Penn State.
• Scored first career points in big win over No. 12/14 Iowa, adding five points.
• Made her collegiate debut vs. LSU, playing 15 minutes off the bench.
• Missed the first four games of the season due to a hand injury.
FRESHMAN SEASON (2017-18 at Florida State):
• Sat out her entire freshman season to rehab from a season-ending knee injury sustained during off-season workouts in September 2017.
• Resumed to full speed after a rigorous rehab in the spring 2018.
• Handled back-up point guard duties in August 2017 during Florida State’s Foreign Tour to Italy and Spain, impressing with her ability to distribute.
• Learned behind redshirt senior point guard and Nancy Lieberman Award Top 10 Watch List member AJ Alix in the 2017-18 year.
AT NEWTON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL:
- Talented play-maker who showed off strong leadership, great floor vision and good long-range scoring at the prep level.
- Becomes the second Massachusetts native to suit up for Florida State, joining former guard Michelle Frank (1993-94) of Sandwich, Mass.
- One of four Massachusetts natives named as a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee.
- Rated 19th among point guards in the 2017 class by ESPNW Hoopgurlz, earning strong reviews for her ability to excel in the up-tempo game.
- Poured in 1,023 points in three seasons at Newton North.
- Averaged 20.7 points per game while leading Newton North to the Division I State Tournament as a junior in 2015-16.
- Recorded 20 points per game as a senior while being named the Bay State MVP.
- Led her team to the Division I South Quarterfinals as a senior, contributing 31 points in a season-ending loss to Newton South.
- Uses her body well to draw contact and can also win 1-on-1 matchups on the offensive end with her knack for creating space.
- Played for the Boston Showstoppers AAU squad. Her Uncle Clinton was her AAU Coach, while her older sister Ednaija is a sophomore guard at Rhode Island.
- Began playing basketball in third grade as a member of her uncle’s AAU team, crediting him for her development while owing it to her sister for introducing her to the game. She has played alongside her older sister Ednaija ever since.
- The 5-foot-10 player has impressed colleges with being able to finish consistently in traffic, attack the basket and rebound well from the guard position.
- Lassiter is rated as a four-star player via Prospects Nation.
- Battled back from a season-ending knee injury as a freshman to enjoy an outstanding high school career despite missing her sophomore season.
- Received approximately 40 collegiate offers before deciding on Florida State, signing her National Letter of Intent on Nov. 11, 2016.
- Named to the Boston Globe Girls Basketball All-Scholastics five-member Dream Team as a senior.
| Nickname: | Say Say |
| One word to describe your Coach: | Legend |
| Favorite Rutgers athlete, past or present: | Cappie Pondextee |
| Best player ever competed against: | Arike Ogumbawale |
| Major: | Masters of Financial Analysis |
| I chose my major because: | I really like wealth management and want to pursue that for a career |
| The person I most admire is and why: | My mother and grandmother because they are both fighters. Unfortunately we lost my grandmother to cancer 2 years back but she was a fighter and my mother is a fighter too. My mother always finds a way regardless of the circumstances and I admire her grit, her fight, and her perseverance. |
| If I wasn’t playing (sport), I’d be: | At home and doing nothing. Basketball has taken me to so many different places I wouldn’t have experienced without it and has taught me so many things about myself that I wouldn’t know what I would be doing without it. |
| Favorite professional athlete: | Kyrie Irving & Chelsea Gray |
| Favorite professional sports team: | Any Boston team |
| One word to describe myself on the field/court: | Competitive |
| One word to describe myself off the field/court: | Geek |
| Few people know that I: | Am kind of a nerd and love wealth management. I love anything money related. |
| Person who had greatest influence on my athletics career: | My uncle |
| I started playing my sport because…: | My family said I had to try basketball because they were tired of driving me and my sister to different places on the same day. |
| I chose Rutgers because…: | It feels like home and the coaching staff has been like family to me for a long time. |
| Favorite cereal: | Honey Nut Cheerios |
| The movie I have watched the most in my lifetime is: | Never Back Down |
| The best actor/actress to play me in a movie is…: | Gabrielle Union |
| Favorite musician/group: | Beyoncé |
| The first song I knew all the words to is: | Cater 2 U |
| If I could turn any activity into an Olympic sport, I would win a gold medal at: | Napping |
| Famous people I have met include: | Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, and others I can’t remember |
| Rituals I have before, during or after a game are: | Have to eat a snack before the game |
| Favorite all-time gift received: | Money |
| Pets I had growing up were: | Dog |
| My favorite Halloween costume growing up was: | Cheerleader |
| The place in the world I would most like to visit is: | Turks and Caicos |
| The website I visit most often is: | Amazon |
| My favorite teacher was/is:(name, grade, subject) | Tom Donellan, 9-12th grade, graphic design |
| The quote that most resonates with me is: | “If it was easy, everyone would do it” |
| If my life was a book, the title would be: | Perseverance |
| If I could choose any color when buying a new car it would be: | Black |
| My spirit animal is: | Gazelle |
| One thing on my bucket list is: | Clear $50k a month |
| Phone app you cannot live without: |
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