Jennifer Bruce Scott honored to have jersey retired at Pitt
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Jennifer Bruce Scott has worn several hats in the game of basketball over the years, from a high school and collegiate competitor to high school coach at Winchester Thurston, Penn Hills, Gateway and Plum and now as a high school referee.
Her standout four years on the hard court at Pitt from 1981-85, when she scored 2,295 points, will be celebrated Feb. 19 as her Pitt No. 12 jersey will be retired at halftime of the Panthers women’s game against nationally ranked Notre Dame set for 2 p.m.
“This is a terrific honor,” Scott said. “I thought maybe it was going to happen. Growing up, it’s not one of your goals to have a jersey retired. Looking back, I was fortunate enough and excited to have had the career I did at Pitt. I am sure I will be very excited the day of (the jersey retirement). My kids (Shayla and Tyler) are super excited. I don’t know if they are more excited that me or not. But it will be a great celebration.”
Scott earned accolades at the high school level at Carrick before eventually making her way to Pitt.
She is the second female athlete at Pitt (Lorri Johnson) to have her jersey retired and will be the sixth basketball player overall to have their jersey raised to the rafters at the Petersen Events Center, also joining men’s players Don Hennon, Billy Knight, Charles Smith and Brandin Knight.
With her 2,295 career points, Scott remains the second all-time leading scorer in Pitt basketball history — men’s or women’s. She finished her four years with career averages of 20.5 points and 8.9 rebounds.
Scott still ranks in the top 10 in Pitt women’s basketball history for blocks (third, 203), rebounds (fifth, 998) and steals (seventh, 203).
Scott, a three-time first-team All-Big East honoree and the 1984 Big East Co-Player of the Year, also is a member of the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame, having been enshrined in 2020.
She was named to the Big East Silver Anniversary Squad in 2008 and was Pitt’s first recipient of the ACC’s Women’s Basketball Legends award in 2014.
“Looking back, I remember games and accomplishments like they were yesterday,” Scott said.
Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke said she and Pitt athletics are excited to honor Scott’s accomplishments during her time with the Panthers.
“Jennifer was an incredible player, dynamic leader, and inspiring role model for so many while also laying the foundation of excellence for all future Pitt female student-athletes,” Lyke said at the time of the announcement Jan. 12.
“Jennifer is well deserving of this honor, not only because of her accolades on the basketball court but because of the lasting impact she made on the Pitt community and athletic department during her four years as a Panther. A true legend of the program, Jennifer’s jersey will serve as inspirational goal for future Pitt women’s basketball players.”
After her playing days, coaching the game was in her blood, and Scott came to Gateway in the fall of 2003 to coach the Gators girls team after four seasons at Penn Hills.
With daughter Shayla as a centerpiece in the Gateway machine for four seasons, the team reached its highest level in 2004-05 and 2005-06 when it went a combined 43-14 overall and 24-4 in section play with a section championship and consecutive trips to the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA second round.
Scott stepped away from Gateway after the 2006-07 season and later joined on as an assistant coach at Plum.
She now sees the game from a different perspective as a game official at the high school level in the WPIAL and City League.
Shayla concluded her Gateway varsity career at the program’s all-time leading scorer, and she continued her basketball pursuits at Pitt.
During her time with the Panthers, Shayla helped lead the team to a pair of Sweet 16 appearances.
She then also got into coaching as an assistant coach at LaSalle and later came home to Pittsburgh as the athletic director at the Ellis School.
“To have that legacy at Pitt with Shayla was pretty special,” Scott said. “But when she chose Pitt, she wanted to make a name for herself, and she did that. She just happened to do it at the same university as her mother.”
Scott’s son, Tyler, was a key member of the Gateway boys basketball team’s rise to a pair of WPIAL championships a little more than a decade ago.
He also played in college at Kent State, John A. Logan College and Slippery Rock before joining his mother as a referee.
“Jennifer Bruce set the bar in women’s basketball here at Pitt,” Panthers coach Lance White said.
“She is an amazing ambassador for this program and the accomplishments she achieved as a student-athlete are beyond measure. We couldn’t be more excited to honor her and the legacy she left here at Pitt by raising her jersey into the rafters of the Pete on Feb. 19.”