Patricia "Trish" Roberts (born June 14, 1955) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player. She was most recently the head coach of the women's basketball team at

Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of the ...

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...

. Roberts played basketball at

Monroe Area High School Monroe Area High School is located in Walton County, Georgia, Walton County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It serves the city of Monroe, Georgia, Monroe. The school Monroe Area High School is a public, four-year comprehensive high ...

, North Georgia State College, Emporia State College, and the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

. She holds the

Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA women's basketball competition. The team has been a contender for national titles for over thirty years, having made every NCAA ...

records for points scored in a season (929) and in a game (51). She also played on the United States women's basketball team that won a silver medal at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

. From 1978 to 1982, she played professional basketball in the

Women's Professional Basketball League The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional w ...

for the

Minnesota Fillies The Minnesota Fillies were an American women's professional basketball team based in Minnesota that competed in the Women's Professional Basketball League from 1978 to 1981. The Fillies were one of three teams to play in all three of the league's ...

and St. Louis Streak. Roberts has also held head coaching positions with the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

(1988–1992), the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(1992–1996),

Atlanta Glory The Atlanta Glory was a women's professional basketball team in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a member of the American Basketball League. The Glory played its home games in Forbes Arena. The team folded before the start of the abortive third ABL se ...

(1996–1997),

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

(1999–2004), and Agnes Scott (2011–2016). She has been inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

, the Tennessee Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame, the Emporia State College Hall of Fame, and the Women In Sports and Education Hall of Fame.

Amateur basketball

A native of

Monroe, Georgia Monroe is a city in Walton County, Georgia, United States, serving as the county seat. It is located both one hour east of Atlanta via US 78 and GA 138 to I-20 and east of Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport and is one of the exurban ci ...

, Roberts, after playing high school basketball at

, began her college playing career at North Georgia State College during the 1973–1974 season. She then transferred to Emporia State College in Kansas where she played collegiate basketball from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, Roberts played for the United States women's basketball team that played in the

. The 1976 games were the first to include an Olympic Basketball Tournament for Women. In the first women's basketball game played at the Olympics, the American team lost to Japan, 84–71. Roberts was the second highest scorer for the United States with 14 points in the inaugural Olympic game. Although the American team had not finished higher than eighth place in any prior international competition, the 1976 team defeated the team from Czechoslovakia, 83–67, to win the silver medal. Roberts was the team's third-highest scorer with 10 points in the silver medal game. Roberts scored a total of 60 points in five matches in the 1976 Olympics. Roberts remained on the National team in the subsequent year as the team competed in the 1977 World University Games. After winning the opening game against Germany, Marquis had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the USA team defeat Mexico. Marquis scored 16 points in a close game against Romania, which USA team won 76–73. The USSR team was too strong for the USA team, winning twice against the USA team, including the gold medal game. The USA team captured the silver medal. Roberts averaged 4.2 points per game. In the fall of 1976, Roberts transferred to the

. On November 13, 1976, in her first games at Tennessee, she set Tennessee school records with 51 points and 20 rebounds in a game against the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. She later bested her own single-game record with a 24-rebound performance. Over the course of the season, she also set Tennessee's single-season records with 929 points and an average of 29.9 points per game. At the end of the 1976–1977 season, Roberts was selected as an All-American and named the Tennessee Female Athlete of the Year.

Professional basketball

Roberts played professional basketball in the

for the

and St. Louis Streak from 1978 to 1982. In February 1979, she was also named interim coach by the Fillies. In March 1980, she was waived by the Fillies. In October 1980, she was signed by the Streak. She was selected as an All-Pro in 1981.

Coaching career

Roberts has remained active in women's basketball as a coach. She held assistant coaching positions at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

(1982–1984), the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

(1984–1985), the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

(1985–1986), and the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

(1986–1988). In August 1988, at age 33, Roberts received her first head coaching post. She was hired by the

as the head coach of its women's basketball team. In December 1988, two assistant coaches and three veteran players left the team, with one of the coaches reportedly leaving due "philosophical differences" with Roberts. Roberts remained the head coach at Maine until 1991. In her four years as head coach at Maine, Roberts compiled an 82-32 (.719) record and led her teams to three 20-win seasons and a berth in the 1989

National Women's Invitational Tournament The National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) was a post-season tournament for women's intercollegiate basketball programs that was contested from 1969 to 1996. The original sponsorship information appears to have been lost over the ensuin ...

. In the spring of 1992, Roberts was hired by the

to take over as the head coach of the

Michigan Wolverines women's basketball The Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associati ...

team. She held that post for four years through the 1995–1996 basketball season. In September 1994, a Michigan player announced plans to sue Roberts for harassment. Roberts was ultimately reprimanded and placed on probation after allegations from parents that she had abused players. Roberts compiled a 20–88 record (5-63 against

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

opponents) in four years at Michigan. She resigned as Michigan's head coach in May 1996. In May 1996, Roberts was hired as the head coach of the

in the American Basketball League a newly formed professional women's basketball league. After coaching the Glory to an 18–22 record, Roberts was fired as the team's head coach in March 1997. In 1999, she was hired as the head women's basketball coach at

. She held that position for five years through the 2003–2004 season. In August 2004, Roberts left Stony Brook amid reports that several players had left the program and that Roberts had clashed with the team's star, Sherry Jordan. In five years as the head coach at Stony Brook, Roberts compiled a 66–76 record. In 2011, Roberts returned to coaching as the head basketball coach at

. In her first two season as head coach at Agnes Scott, she has compiled records of 8-16 (2011–2012) and 14-11 (2012–2013).

Honors

In June 2000, Roberts was inducted into the

as part of its second group of inductees. She has also been inducted into the Tennessee Lady Volunteer Hall of Fame (2003), the Emporia State College Hall of Fame (1994), and the Women In Sports and Education Hall of Fame (1996).

References