Stringer suspended for game against Seton Hall

Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer will not be in attendance Wednesday when the Rutgers women’s basketball team tips off against Seton Hall.
Rutgers handed Stringer a one-game suspension yesterday after she violated NCAA bylaw 14.1.11, which focuses on the eligibility of male practice players.
“Accountability is a vital element of the Rutgers athletics family,” Athletic Director Tim Pernetti said in a statement. “We will always follow what is in accordance with athletic department and NCAA policy.”
Practicing in blue and white pinnies yesterday, the Rutgers women’s basketball team looked more like Seton Hall — the team they face off against Wednesday — than the Scarlet Knights.
After the team’s recent stretch of ups and downs, Stringer decided to strip the team of their practice gear — a privilege the Knights get back when they play as a team, she said.
Until then, the Scarlet Knights are without their scarlet.
“We understand why coach is doing that,” said senior center Rashidat Junaid. “A lot of outsiders look in and say ‘Wow, why is she doing that,’ but we deserve to have our things taken away because we’re not playing like Scarlet Knights right now. We’re playing like what we look like — a rec team.”
Stringer used motivational tactics, such as removing locker room privileges or practice gear, before and alluded to them after the Knights’ lackluster victory over Princeton earlier in the season.
But with seven games remaining in the regular season, Wednesday included, time to regain their gear may not be on the team’s side.
“I don’t know if they’re going to get it for the rest of the year, I don’t know,” Stringer said. “They probably play better without it.”
Rutgers takes its first step toward redemption at home Wednesday against the Pirates (9-14, 1-9).
The Knights (13-10, 5-4) mark a size advantage over the Pirates, whose tallest player stands at 6-foot-2. The towering Junaid presents a formidable matchup for the Pirates, though Stringer may utilize sophomore forward Chelsey Lee in the five spot for her speed.
“It’s a disadvantage [for myself and the opposition] both ways — I’m disadvantaged offensively and [the opponent] is disadvantaged on the other end,” Junaid said. “Sometimes it is [frustrating to sit] but I have to do whatever we can to help us win, so if we have to go quicker then I’m okay with that.”
After three games in which she struggled to find the basket, senior guard Brittany Ray is slowing getting back on track. Ray made four shots against South Florida — more than her previous three games combined — and scored 12 points. The senior sits on 999 career points going into Wednesday's game against the Pirates, needing only a single basket or free throw to join the 1,000-point club.
Reaching the milestone may help further Ray’s revitalization once she gets the monkey off her back, Stringer said.
“I told her ‘Let’s just get this one point and get it over with,’” Stringer said. “Because I know you’ve been under a tremendous strain for a long time.”
A victory Wednesday gives the Knights more ground to stand on in the playoff hunt, and a spark of momentum as they prepare for a two-game road trip against Villanova and West Virginia.
And maybe, before long, they’ll be able to practice in scarlet again.
“When we play as a team we’ll get our stuff back,” Junaid said. “South Florida was rocky, it could have been a better win. But I think it’ll take more than one game to prove to [Stringer] that we’re back on track.”