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SCSU Women's Basketball Honors Storied History With Banner Unveiling, Number Retirements

General

SCSU Women's Basketball Honors Storied History With Banner Unveiling, Number Retirements

On Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball gave a nod to the past as it unveiled a pair of banners commemorating Southern's success in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Tournament and also retired the No. 20 jersey for Mary Anne O'Connor and the No. 32 jersey for Susan Rojcewicz. 



The halftime ceremony began with a celebration of the Owls' past success from 1972 through 1979 in the AIAW National Tournament. In the 11-year history of the AIAW National Championship, which predated the NCAA Tournament that began in 1982. In that span, Southern Connecticut made eight appearances – more than any other program in the country. From 1973 to 1975, the Owls advanced to the national semifinals, three times. Join us in recognizing the amazing accomplishments of those teams that were the first to bring national athletic recognition to Southern Connecticut State University. 
 
The second banner recognized O'Connor and Roycewicz induction to the Naismith Hall of Fame and retired both jersey numbers from Southern Connecticut. Two of the greatest student-athletes in Southern Connecticut women's basketball history, in 2023, Mary Anne O'Connor and Susan Rojcewicz were honored as members of the first women's basketball team to be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. O'Connor and Rojcewicz were part of legendary head coach Louise O'Neal's squads that reached the AIAW Final Four in 1973, 1974 and 1975. Named to the 1974 U.S. National team, O'Connor and Rojcewicz helped the team to the 1974 Pan American Games gold medal before winning silver at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
 
O'Connor was inducted into the Southern Connecticut State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987. At Southern, she helped lead the Owls to third-place finishes in the AIAW Division I basketball championships in 1973 and 1974 and to fourth place in 1975. She was a preseason All-American pick in 1974-75 and earned Southern's Outstanding Scholar Athlete Award in 1975. She went on to play basketball in France, leading her team to eight French Cup championships in nine seasons and was named France's Sportswoman of the Year in 1985. She was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.
 
Rojcewicz was inducted to the SCSU Hall of Fame in the following year, 1988. In addition to her contributions to Southern's AIAW semi-finalists teams, Rojcewicz was also a stand-out on the field hockey and softball teams. She was later inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. 

 
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