Rutgers women’s basketball will play an exhibition game in honor of Nikki McCray-Penson

Rutgers women’s basketball will travel to South Carolina to honor Nikki McCray-Penson, a former assistant coach who passed away in July.

Rutgers women’s basketball will play South Carolina in an exhibition game . The game will honor Nikki McCray-Penson, a former assistant coach on both staffs during her coaching career.

Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington announced on Wednesday that the Scarlet Knights and the Gamecocks will honor the former University of Tennessee All-American point guard after she passed away in July from a long battle with breast cancer.

Throughout the game, both teams will raise funds for In the Middle, a non-profit organization in Columbia that provides financial assistance to women battling breast cancer and their families. The non-profit organization helps with medical expenses and raises funds for its scholarship program for children of breast cancer patients.

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McCray-Penson helped capture three consecutive conference titles and two tournament championships at the University of Tennessee. Also, she was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a three-time All-Star in the W.N.B.A. The Collierville, Tennessee, native was elected to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame after her playing career.

McCray-Penson started her coaching career as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky (2006-08) before joining the staff at South Carolina (2008-17). She guided the Gamecocks to a national powerhouse, capturing the 2017 National Championship in her last year as an assistant coach.

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After South Carolina, McCray-Penson landed her first head coaching job at Old Dominion (2017-20) and then transferred to Mississippi State (2020-21). In 2021, McCray-Penson had to step down as head coach because of health reasons.

After one year of stepping away from basketball, she landed an assistant coaching job with the Scarlet Knight (2022-23). While with Rutgers, she helped guide the program to its 1,000th win in program history. Before entering her second season as an assistant coach for the Scarlet Knights, McCray-Penson passed away after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013.