Marritta Gillcrease was promoted to assistant coach of the women's basketball team on May 8, 2017 after serving as the team's director of operations during the 2016-17 campaign.
She enters her fourth season as an assistant coach in 2020-21.
2019-20 was arguably the Broncs finest in program history. Gillcrease helped lead Rider to its first-ever MAAC Regular Season Championship. The top-seeded Broncs advanced past Niagara in the MAAC Quarterfinals before the remainder of the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. Rider posted an 18-2 league mark, with 18 wins being the most for the team in league play in program history. Rider went 26-4 overall and the 26 wins are the most since the Broncs joined Division I following the 1981-82 season. The Broncs were consistently ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll, spending the final two months inside the top-12.
With team success came individual accolades and opportunity. Stella Johnson earned her second consecutive MAAC Player of the Year honor, becoming the sixth player all-time to achieve the feat in back-to-back years. She became Rider's first-ever All-American, earning honorable mention recognition from the Associated Press, Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), while also was picked a Senior CLASS Award Second-Team All-American. Johnson was also a finalist for both the Nancy Lieberman Award and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year and finished the year as the leading scorer in NCAA Division I at 24.8 points per game, more than a point ahead of the next-closest player. She was also the only active Division I player with 2,000 career points, 700 career rebounds, 400 career assists and 300 career steals. In addition, Johnson was named the ECAC and Met Division I Women's Basketball Player of the Year. The list of honors continued with Johnson's second-straight Rider Female Athlete of the Year and MAAC Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors, while becoming one of two MAAC nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year. Johnson's resume drew the attention of the WNBA, as she was the 29th overall selection in the WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury, before making her WNBA debut for the Chicago Sky and later making a strong impact with the Washington Mystics in her rookie season.
Joining Stella Johnson in earning a MAAC major award was Amari Johnson, the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Amari also earned All-MAAC Second Team honors, along with fellow senior Lea Favre. Milligan also oversaw a strong performance in the classroom, with seven Broncs earning MAAC All-Academic Team recognition.
It was another banner year for the Broncs in 2018-19 as Rider finished the season with a 19-13 overall record and a 14-4 record in the MAAC. Rider earned the league’s automatic bid to the WNIT. It marked the second time in program history and the second time in the last three years that the team appeared in the WNIT. The Broncs won 10 or more MAAC games for the third year in a row (first time in program history 10 or more MAAC wins three straight years). The 14 MAAC wins are the most in program history in an 18-game conference schedule and the second-most in Rider history.
Three Broncs earned All-MAAC honors, highlighted by Stella Johnson being the only player in the league to be a unanimous selection to the First Team. Stella was also tabbed as the MAAC Player of the Year. It was the second time in program history that the team had a student-athlete recognized as the league’s best player.
In 2017-18, the Broncs went 14-17 overall and 10-8 MAAC play to earn the No. 5 seed in the MAAC Tournament. Rider won a MAAC Tournament game for the second year in a row after topping fourth-seeded Fairfield in the MAAC Quarterfinals. The Broncs advanced to the MAAC Semifinals for the second year in a row and the third time in program history.
During the year, four Broncs earned weekly awards from either the MAAC or College Sports Madness. At the conclusion of the regular season, three Rider players garnered All-MAAC recognition. Stella Johnson and Kamila Hoskova were named Second Team All-MAAC and freshman Jaiden Morris landed on the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
in 2017-18, Hoskova became the 22nd player in program history to score 1,000 career points. She ended her stellar tenure with the Broncs eighth all-time in scoring with 1,255 points.
“I am thrilled to welcome Marritta as a full-time assistant on our staff,” Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan said. “She is a terrific young lady who has all the makings of an outstanding coach. Having played for me she knows what it takes to be a Lady Bronc and be a successful student-athlete at Rider as she did both. She is an extremely positive role model for the young ladies in our program.”
Gillcrease played professionally overseas in Ireland in 2015-16. In her stint with the NUIG Mystics, she averaged a double-double (12.6 PPG and 11.1 RPG) to lead the team to a National Senior Cup Title. Gillcrease led the league in blocked shots, swatting nearly four a game and she also ranked third in rebounds per contest.
At Rider, Gillcrease appeared in 97 games and made 47 starts. During her junior and senior seasons, she moved into the starting lineup and served as a team captain. Gillcrease ranks third in program history with 132 career blocks and as a junior she was second in the MAAC with 54 blocks. Also during her third year on campus, she shot .553 from the field which is the second-best field-goal percentage in a single season in Rider history.
“It is nothing short of an honor to receive this promotion and I am extremely grateful to the entire staff for having confidence in my ability to take this next step,” Gillcrease noted. “It is hard to put into words just how excited I am about becoming an assistant coach and playing a greater role in building our program. It gives me great pride to become the third woman on the staff who wore the uniform which is just one of the many things that makes Rider Women's Basketball special. It feels be good to be back at Rider for the long haul.”
