In 39 years of women’s basketball at FIU, Head Coach Cindy Russo has been the driving force for 35 of them. Over that time, she has guided FIU to 22-consecutive winning seasons (1981-2003) and at least 20 victories on 18 occasions. Russo has led her teams to six NCAA Division I Tournament berths, seven Postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournaments (WNIT) and two NCAA Division II Tournaments, in addition to winning eight regular season conference titles and seven tournament crowns.
Russo enters the 2014-15 campaign as the ninth-winningest active coach in Division I women’s basketball. The veteran head coach owns a career record of 704-362 over 37 seasons, and a record of 664-360 in 35 seasons at FIU.
FIU finished the 2013-14 campaign with an overall record of 15-15 and a Conference USA mark of 6-10 in its first season in the league. Led by the nation’s leading scorer and three-time AP All-American Jerica Coley, the Panthers advanced to the C-USA Championship semifinals after winning three-consecutive games in three consecutive days. Russo earned her 700th career win midseason on the road with a 53-40 victory at UTSA.
The previous season, Russo led FIU to an overall record of 23-11, as the Panthers posted their second-straight, 10-win Sun Belt Conference season and advanced to their second-consecutive SBC Championship semifinal. FIU earned an at-large bid to the Postseason WNIT, advancing to the postseason event for the first time since 2005-06. The season also saw Coley rank as high as No. 2 in the nation in scoring, as she became the first player in FIU women’s basketball history to be named SBC Player of the Year en route to All-America honors. Coley and teammate Fanni Hutlassa both joined the 1,000-Point Club that season, becoming the third duo in program history to achieve 1,000-career points in the same season.
In 2011-12, Russo earned her 600th victory at FIU with a 62-59 victory over Middle Tennessee on Jan. 29, 2011. Led by Coley, who became just the second freshman in school history to score 500 points in a season, the Panthers finished second in the SBC East Division and third overall, going on to advance to the SBC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2005-06. FIU finished the 2010-11 campaign with an overall record of 16-16 and a regular season mark of 10-6 in league play, marking the program’s first 10-win conference season in nine years.
In 2006-07, Russo joined elite company by becoming the 16th women’s basketball head coach to win 600 career games after her Panthers defeated Central Connecticut, 73-51, on Dec. 23, 2006. Russo later received the Babe Didrickson Zaharias Award from the Sports Society at the 24th annual Women Athletes Reach for the Stars awards banquet for her efforts.
The 2005-06 season saw Russo guide the Panthers into the postseason, as FIU advanced to the semifinals of the SBC Tournament behind the firepower of First Team All-SBC selection Lasma Jekabsone, FIU then received its fifth invitation to the WNIT and the Panthers hosted their second postseason basketball game, going on to earn a preliminary-round overtime victory over the BIG EAST’s Cincinnati before falling at cross-town rival Miami.
In 2001-02, Russo picked up her 500th-career victory with a win over Stephen F. Austin in the Preseason WNIT. After that impressive feat, she went on to lead the Panthers to their first SBC regular season and tournament crowns, and sixth NCAA Division I Tournament appearance. That season, Russo picked up her first SBC Coach of the Year accolade and eighth overall such honor, as FIU finished the regular season ranked in the top 25 in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls.
The Panthers began competition in the Sun Belt Conference in 1998-99 after spending eight years in the Trans America Athletic Conference. FIUfinished 23-7 overall and 9-3 in the conference, and was ranked in the top 25 for the third-consecutive season. With victories over Harvard, Washington and WKU, the Panthers made a third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their first as an at-large selection.
FIU had its greatest season in the program’s history in 1997-98 as the Panthers produced a 29-2 record, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. FIU started the season with an 11-0 record, and, throughout the year, FIU defeated five NCAA Tournament teams – Purdue, Michigan, Georgia, Miami and Louisville. The Panthers, who failed to receive a vote in the preseason polls, climbed to No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. With a 59-45 victory over Marquette in the first round of NCAA Tournament play, Russo earned her 400th victory at FIU.
In 1993-94, Russo led her squad to a 25-4 record and the program’s first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance. The following season, the Panthers continued to improve as they were picked as high as No. 16 in the preseason national polls. FIU finished the campaign with a mark of 27-5, winning an unprecedented fourth-straight TAAC regular season and tournament championship, and upsetting Old Dominion, 81-76, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The women’s basketball program first garnered national attention in 1991-92 when Russo guided FIU to a 23-10 mark in the program’s first season in the TAAC. That team earned a berth to the postseason WNIT. One year later, she had only nine student-athletes on the roster, yet still managed a 25-6 record. FIU won the TAAC with a 12-0 record and outscored its conference opponents by 29.6 points per game, while making a second trip to the WNIT. Following that season, the team received mention in both the Associated Press and USA Today/CNN polls for the first time in school history.
