Jarietta Benton recently completed her first season as an assistant coach for the Yale women's basketball program. She joined the Yale University women's basketball coaching staff in May 2011 after one year as an assistant coach at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and a four-year stint with the Saint Louis University women's basketball program.

Benton joined a Bulldog staff that was coming off of its first-ever appearance in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). She will assist in all facets of game preparation, recruiting and player development.

In her first season on Chris Gobrecht's staff, Benton was instrumental in Yale's continued resurgence as a contender for the Ivy League championship, helping to guide the Bulldogs to a 16-10 record in 2011-12, the most wins in a season since 1993-94. Yale finished the season with an 8-6 mark in Ivy League play and went into the final game of the season with a chance to lock up second place in the Ivy League standings for a return to the WNIT.

During her time at Yale, Benton coached two players who will compete on the international level in junior Megan Vasquez, who will attempt to help Puerto Rico qualify for the 2012 Olympics, and sophomore Janna Graf, who will compete for Germany's U-20 squad in the European Championships. Benton's tenure also included Yale's 17th 1,000-point scorer in Vasquez, who reached the mark on Feb. 10, 2012.

In her first season at Yale, Benton coached an All-Ivy League First Team honoree (Vasquez, 2011-12), an All-Ivy Rookie of the Year (Sarah Halejian, 2011-12), and an All-Ivy Honorable Mention player (Michelle Cashen, 2011-12).

In her one season as an assistant under head coach Austin Parkinson, Benton was charged with assisting with post player development, scouting and video breakdown of opposing teams, and coordinating team travel arrangements. During her tenure at IUPUI, Benton was instrumental in the team's recruiting efforts, with a focus in Southern Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

Prior to joining the IUPUI staff, Benton spent three seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations on the Saint Louis University women's basketball staff. She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant coach with the Billikens. In addition to assisting Saint Louis Head Coach Shimmy Gray-Miller with daily operations, Benton oversaw the Billikens' community service projects, coordinated video operations and film exchange, assisted with travel arrangements, supervised student managers and served as summer camp director.

Benton was a member of the DePaul University basketball team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament four straight years. As a senior and team captain in 2006, she helped the Blue Demons post a 27-7 record and reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to top-seeded Louisiana State University. Benton was presented the Maggie Dixon Captain's Award. Benton scored 261 points and distributed 72 assists during her DePaul career.

A native of Houston, Texas, Benton finished her prep career at Nimitz High School with 1,447 points, 887 rebounds, 327 steals and 205 blocks. As a senior, she led the Houston area with 19 points and 9.7 rebounds per game while shooting 44.0 percent from 3-point range. Benton was an honorable mention All-State selection by the Texas Sports Writers Association and twice was tabbed second-team All-State by Texas Basketball magazine.

Benton graduated from DePaul in 2006 with a degree in fitness management. She earned her Master's of Arts in Higher Education from Saint Louis in 2010.