Coaching legends to square off

CLEVELAND – A quarter-century ago, the NCAA had its first Women’s Final Four in basketball. Pat Summitt and C.Vivian Stringer coached in it. Tonight, they go head to head for the national championship as Tennessee meets Rutgers.

Talk about career longevity. “They have meant a lot to women’s basketball and its growth,” Tennessee sophomore star Candace Parker said. “The game wouldn’t be where it is right now without those two women.”

Parker wasn’t even born until four years after that first Final Four, in 1986, but she knows what she’s talking about. Summitt and Stringer are legends of women’s athletics and still at the peak of their long careers.

Summitt took over as Tennessee’s coach in 1974. Stringer began in 1971 at Cheyney. They led those two teams to the 1982 Final Four in Norfolk, Va. Tennessee lost in the semifinals to Louisiana Tech, which then beat Cheyney in the final.

Stringer joined Rutgers in 1995.

Stringer has won 777 games, and this is her fourth trip to the Final Four. That sounds top-notch compared to almost anyone except Summitt, who has won 946 games, six NCAA titles and is in her 17th Final Four.