Jarietta Benton will enter her third season as an assistantcoach for the Yale women's basketball program in 2013-14. Shejoined the Yale University women's basketball coaching staff in May2011 after one year as an assistant coach at IndianaUniversity-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and a four-yearstint with the Saint Louis University women's basketballprogram.
Benton joined a Bulldog staff coming off of its first appearancein the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). She willassist in all facets of game preparation, recruiting and playerdevelopment.
In her first two seasons on Chris Gobrecht's staff, Benton wasinstrumental in establishing Yale as a perennial contender forthe Ivy League championship. The Bulldogs posted a 16-10 record in2011-12, marking the program's most wins since 1993-94,and followed that up with a 13-15 record in 2012-13 that includedan 8-6 mark in the Ivy League. Yale finished the 2011-12season with an 8-6 mark in Ivy League play and entered thefinal game of the season with a chance to lock up second-place inthe Ivy League standings for a return to the WNIT.
During her time at Yale, Benton has coached twoplayers with experience competing on theinternational level in Megan Vasquez, who was a part of PuertoRico's attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, and Janna Graf,who led Germany's U-20 squad to a second-place finish in theEuropean Championships. Benton's tenure also included Yale's17th 1,000-point scorer in Vasquez, who reached the mark on Feb.10, 2012.
In her two seasons at Yale, Benton has mentored twoAll-Ivy League First Team selections (Sarah Halejian, 2012-13;Vasquez, 2011-12), an All-Ivy Rookie of the Year (Halejian,2011-12), and three All-Ivy Honorable Mention player (Vasquez,2012-13; Graf, 2012-13; Michelle Cashen, 2011-12).
In her one season at IUPUI as an assistant under head coachAustin Parkinson, Benton was charged with assisting with postplayer development, scouting and video breakdown of opposing teams,and coordinating team travel arrangements. During her tenure atIUPUI, 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 asthe Director of Basketball Operations on the Saint Louis Universitywomen's basketball staff. She began her coaching career as agraduate assistant coach with the Billikens. In addition toassisting Saint Louis head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller with dailyoperations, Benton oversaw the Billikens' community serviceprojects, coordinated video operations and film exchange, assistedwith travel arrangements, supervised student managers and served assummer camp director.
Benton was a member of the DePaul University basketball teamthat qualified for the NCAA Tournament in four straight years. As asenior and team captain in 2006, she helped the Blue Demons post a27-7 record and reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, wherethey fell to top-seeded Louisiana State University. Benton waspresented the Maggie Dixon Captain's Award. Benton scored 261points and distributed 72 assists during her DePaul career.
A native of Houston, Texas, Benton finished her prep career atNimitz High School with 1,447 points, 887 rebounds, 327 steals and205 blocks. As a senior, she led the Houston area with 19.0 pointsand 9.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.0 percent from 3-pointrange. Benton was an honorable mention All-State selection by theTexas Sports Writers Association and twice was tabbed SecondTeam All-State by Texas Basketball magazine.
Benton graduated from DePaul in 2006 with a degree in fitnessmanagement. She earned her Master's of Arts in Higher Educationfrom Saint Louis in 2010.
