Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
Rizzotti guided the Colonials back to the NCAA Tournament in her second season at the helm in 2017-18 after leading the program to the Atlantic 10 Championship. GW put together a dominant defensive stretch over four games in the A-10 Championship, and knocked off two higher seeds, en route to the seventh tournament title in team history.
GW surrendered just 52.5 points per game over the four games while forcing 16.8 turnovers per game. Ball protection was also key as the Colonials averaged just 7.3 giveaways in each of the four games, including an eye-popping one turnover in the semifinal upset of top-seeded Dayton.
After starting the season 3-7 thanks to a difficult non-conference schedule, GW rebounded in the middle portion of the regular season and surged down the stretch to pull six games above .500 at 19-13 overall entering the NCAA Tournament. GW secured the #14 seed and fell to #3 seed Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
Senior forward Kelli Prange earned Atlantic 10 Sixth Woman of the Year honors while senior guard Brianna Cummings earned a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team and All-Defensive Team.
In her first season at the helm of the program she directed GW to its 21st 20-win season in program history as the Colonials won a share of the Atlantic 10 Regular-Season Championship. GW finished with a 20-10 overall record and a 13-3 mark in the Atlantic 10 and made its 23rd postseason appearance of the last 27 seasons in the WNIT.
The Colonials boasted a trio of All-Conference performers in Rizzotti's first season. Graduate transfer Lexi Martins earned spots on both the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team and All-Academic Team. Senior Caira Washington was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team and senior Hannah Schaible was honored on the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team.
GW had one of the top rebounding and defensive units in the Atlantic 10 in Rizzotti's first season. The Colonials led the conference in rebounds per game (42.60), offensive rebounds per game (15.0), rebound margin (+6.6), steals (253) and steals per game (8.4) while ranking second in field-goal percentage defense (.355) and third in both total blocks (162) and blocks per game (5.4).
Rizzotti was named the 10th head coach of GW women's basketball on April 15, 2016. Coach Rizzotti spent the previous 17 seasons as the head coach of the Hartford Hawks, where she built a conference powerhouse in taking the Hawks to all six NCAA appearances in program history, winning a pair of NCAA Tournament games, and distinguishing herself as the all-time winningest coach in America East history.
Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, Rizzotti is well-known in basketball circles around the world. After taking control of a Hartford program that went 8-19 in the year before she was hired and that had never won more than 15 games prior to her arrival, the Hawks enjoyed 11 seasons with more than 15 victories in her tenure and won at least 20 games seven times.
Following the 2009-10 regular season, Rizzotti was named a finalist for the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year award after leading Hartford to a school-record 20-game winning streak, a perfect 16-0 record in conference play and the program's first-ever national ranking.
In all, Rizzotti compiled a record of 316-216 (.594), including 183-97 (.654) in America East play, and won five conference championships and four regular-season titles. She was named America East Coach of the Year three times (2006, 2007, 2010) and developed three dozen all-conference players, including a pair of America East Players of the Year, an America East Defensive Player of the Year and an America East Rookie of the Year, as well as the program's first-ever WNBA draftee.
Rizzotti is also deeply connected to international basketball through her involvement with the USA Women's Basketball national program. In addition to her current appointment, she served as head coach of 2010 FIBA Americas U18 gold medal winners as well as the 2011 U19 World Champions. In 2011. she was crowned as the USA Basketball National Coach of the Year. More recently Rizzotti served as an assistant for the 2014 & 2018 FIBA World Championships and served in a support role for the USA Basketball Women's National Team's Gold Medal run at the 2016 Olympic Games.
As a student-athlete at the University of Connecticut, Rizzotti first vaulted into the national spotlight as the starting point guard for the Huskies' first national championship team in 1995 with an undefeated 35-0 record. During the run to the national title, Rizzotti was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
A former All-American and the NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player after her junior and senior seasons, in 1996 Rizzotti virtually swept the postseason awards as Big East Player of the Year, Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Associated Press Player of the Year, the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the Wade Trophy winner.
Rizzotti graduated as UConn's career leader in assists (637) and steals (349) and still ranks second all-time in those categories.
As a coach and formerly as a student-athlete, Rizzotti's focus on academics has always been exemplary. Under her guidance, Hartford was ranked among the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Academic Top 25 teams on three occasions. Another accolade from her playing days was awarded in June 2016 when the two-time Academic All-American and 1996 Academic All-American of the Year was officially inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame.
Rizzotti played eight seasons of professional basketball following her graduation from UConn in 1996. In addition to five seasons in the WNBA - two with the Houston Comets and three with the Cleveland Rockers - she competed for three seasons with the New England Blizzard in the American Basketball League. In the ABL she was a two-time All-Star.
Rizzotti and her husband, Bill Sullivan, have two sons, Holden and Conor.
THE RIZZOTTI FILE
PERSONAL
Jennifer Marie Rizzotti
Born: May 15, 1974, in White Plains, NY
Age: 45
Hometown: New Fairfield, CT
Alma Mater: University of Connecticut (1996), B.S. Biology
High School: New Fairfield
Husband: Bill Sullivan
Children: Holden, Conor
COACHING CAREER
2016-Present: Head Coach, George Washington University
2017 Atlantic 10 Regular-Season Co Champions, WNIT First Round
2018 Atlantic 10 Tournament Champions, NCAA First Round
1999-2016: Head Coach, University of Hartford - 3x America East Coach of the Year
2002 America East Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round
2005 America East Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round
2006 America East Champions, NCAA Tournament Second Round
2006 America East Coach of the Year
2007 America East Regular-Season Champions, WNIT Second Round
2007 America East Coach of the Year
2008 America East Champions, NCAA Tournament Second Round
2009 WNIT Second Round
2010 America East Regular-Season Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round
2010 America East Coach of the Year
2011 America East Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round
2012 WNT First Round
2013 WNIT First Round
USA Basketball
Assistant Coach, 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship - Gold Medal
Head Coach, 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship - Gold Medal
Head Coach, 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship - Gold Medal
2011 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year
Court Coach, 2014 FIBA World Championship - Gold Medal
Support Staff, 2016 Summer Olympics - Gold Medal
Court Coach, 2017 National Team Training Camp
Assistant Coach, 2018 National Team -FIBA World Cup of Basketball
Assistant Coach, 2021 Summer Olympics
PLAYING CAREER
1992-96: University of Connecticut (117-18, 3x BIG EAST Champs, 4x NCAA Tournament)
1993 NCAA First Round
1994 BIG EAST Champions, NCAA Elite Eight
1995 BIG EAST Champions, National Champions (35-0)
1996 BIG EAST Champions, NCAA Final Four
1996 Associated Press National Player of the Year
1996 Wade Trophy National Player of the Year
1996 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award
1996 Honda Broderick Cup Award
1996 Honda Cup Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year
1996 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year
1996 NCAA Mideast Regional Most Outstanding Player
1996 BIG EAST Player of the Year
1996 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year
1996 ECAC Player of the Year
1996 Kodak All-America First Team
1996 Associated Press All-America First Team
1996 USBWA All-America First Team
1996 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team
1996 WBCA Senior All-Star
1996 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship
1996 All-BIG EAST First Team
1996 BIG EAST Academic All-Star
1996 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
1996 ECAC All-Star First Team
1996 UConn Club Outstanding Senior Scholar-Athlete
1995 Kodak All-America First Team
1995 Associated Press All-America Second Team
1995 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team
1995 NCAA East Regional Most Outstanding Player
1995 NCAA All-Tournament Team
1995 All-BIG EAST First Team
1995 BIG EAST Academic All-Star
1995 ECAC All-Star First Team
1994 All-BIG EAST Second Team
1994 BIG EAST Academic All-Star
1993 BIG EAST Co-Rookie of the Year
1993 BIG EAST All-Rookie Team
USA Basketball
1996 R. William Jones Cup - Gold Medal
Professional
1996-98: New England Blizzard (ABL) - 2x All-Star
1999-2000: Houston Comets (WNBA)
2001-03: Cleveland Rockers (WNBA)
Rizzotti's Year-by-Year Record
|
|
|
Wins |
Loses |
Pct. |
Wins |
Loses |
Pct. |
Finish |
|
| 1999-00 | Hartford | 14 | 14 | .500 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 5th | |
| 2000-01 | Hartford | 15 | 14 | .517 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 4th | |
| 2001-02 | Hartford | 16 | 15 | .516 | 9 | 7 | .563 | 4th | America East Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2002-03 | Hartford | 7 | 21 | .250 | 5 | 11 | .313 | 8th | |
| 2003-04 | Hartford | 18 | 12 | .600 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 4th | |
| 2004-05 | Hartford | 22 | 9 | .710 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 2nd | America East Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2005-06 | Hartford | 27 | 4 | .871 | 15 | 1 | .838 | 1st | America East Champions, NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| 2006-07 | Hartford | 25 | 9 | .735 | 15 | 1 | .838 | 1st | America East Regular-Season Champions, WNIT Second Round |
| 2007-08 | Hartford | 28 | 6 | .824 | 14 | 2 | .875 | 2nd | America East Champions, NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| 2008-09 | Hartford | 20 | 12 | .625 | 14 | 2 | .875 | 2nd | WNIT Second Round |
| 2009-10 | Hartford | 27 | 5 | .844 | 16 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st | America East Regular-Season Champions, NCAA First Round |
| 2010-11 | Hartford | 17 | 16 | .515 | 11 | 5 | .688 | 3rd | America East Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2011-12 | Hartford | 19 | 13 | .594 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 3rd | WNIT First Round |
| 2012-13 | Hartford | 21 | 12 | .636 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 3rd | |
| 2013-14 | Hartford | 13 | 18 | .419 | 9 | 7 | .563 | 5th | |
| 2014-15 | Hartford | 16 | 17 | .485 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 5th | |
| 2015-16 | Hartford | 11 | 19 | .367 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 6th | |
| TOTAL | Hartford | 316 | 216 | .594 | 183 | 97 | .654 | 5x America East Champions, 4x Regular-Season Champions 6x NCAA Tournament, 4x WNIT |
|
| 2016-17 | George Washington | 20 | 10 | .666 | 13 | 3 | .813 | T-1st | Atlantic 10 Regular-Season Co-Champions, WNIT First Round |
| 2017-18 | George Washington | 19 | 14 | .576 | 10 | 6 | .625 | T-5th | Atlantic 10 Champions, NCAA First Round |
| 2018-19 | George Washington | 10 | 20 | .333 | 7 | 9 | .438 | T-8th | |
| 2019-20 | George Washington | 14 | 16 | .467 | 8 | 8 | .500 | T-7th | |
| TOTAL | George Washington | 63 | 60 | .612 | 38 | 26 | .594 | 1x A-10 Champion, 1x A-10 Regular-Season Champion, 1x NCAA, 1x WNIT | |
| CAREER | 21 seasons | 379 | 276 | .579 |
