JENNIFER BRUCE SALUTES THE FANS IN ATTENDANCE, AS HER JERSEY NUMBER 12 IS RETIRED BY PITT, FEB. 19.
—a basketball legend
If you don’t know the legend that is Jennifer Bruce, you most likely have been locked in a safe, secured in a vault, and submerged 50 feet under the historic Pitt Fitzgerald Field House!
Bruce is a 1980 graduate of Carrick High School who was destined for greatness. The daughter of Mr. Clarence Bruce, a well-known, well-loved and proud member of the Homestead Grays, and the sister to Kirk Bruce, former South Hills basketball star and member of the Pitt Panthers’ famed 1973-74 team that finished 25-4 and advanced in the NCAA Regional Finals. Kirk Bruce was then drafted by the Utah Stars of the former American Basketball Association. By the way, while the accolades are flowing, all will agree that given the athletic genes being passed down from Mr. Bruce, all other matters of importance were blessed by Mrs. Bruce…Amen!
Now on this day, Feb. 19, 2023, fans gathered at the Petersen Events Center in Oakland, in part to watch the Panthers do battle with Notre Dame, but just as much to celebrate the retiring of #12, the game shirt of Jennifer Bruce. Bruce became just the second female athlete at Pitt to have her jersey retired, and the sixth basketball player at Pitt to do so. She scored 2,295 points in a Panther uniform from 1981-85, and also collected 998 rebounds and blocked 203 shots.
“To say that I’m elated, proud, appreciative and humbled at the same time would be an understatement,” expressed Bruce, in a statement from the university to local media. “I can’t honestly say that growing up and loving this game so much that I would be having my jersey number retired at a major university, it is truly unbelievable and it’s the ultimate honor. I would like to thank the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Department, my teammates of course, my family and friends. Besides my big brother, and my children there are two people in heaven who are extremely proud, Marguerite and Clarence Bruce. There is no me without them.”
Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke recalled Bruce as 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. 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.”
JENNIFER BRUCE DURING HER PLAYING DAYS AT PITT.
A three-time first-team All-Big East honoree, Bruce was named the 1984 Big East Co-Player of the Year after she averaged 23.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, according to a Pitt news release. She was named to the Big East Silver Anniversary Squad, recognizing the league’s greatest players over its initial 25 years while also becoming Pitt’s first recipient of the ACC’s Women’s Basketball Legends award in 2014. Bruce ranks first in Big East history in conference games scoring average (23.3 ppg) and ranks 11th in conference game rebounding average (9.7 rpg).
Now as a famous spokesperson once said, “Here’s the rest of the story.” Once married to the late, great Rod Scott, a standout player at Duquesne University, and the mother to two superstar players, Shayla and Tyler, Jennifer Bruce never let her success and accomplishments get to her head. If you knew her, you knew her success and you certainly knew the family legacy. Not only those mentioned, but her nieces and extended family members that added to the Bruce sports history. It would take another edition or two to log in all the records and achievements as well as her professional and community accomplishments.
But this has to be re-emphasized—the number of lives Jennifer Bruce has impacted and affected are immeasurable. The head basketball coaching positions, such as at Gateway High School, the countless AAU trips and games and the endless basketball clinics and special appearances she made for hundreds of groups during her career.
“Jennifer Bruce set the bar in women’s basketball here at Pitt,” said current Pitt women’s basketball head coach Lance White, in a statement. “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.”
JENNIFER BRUCE WAVES TO THE CROWD AT THE PETERSEN EVENTS CENTER, AS HER JERSEY NUMBER IS RETIRED, FEB. 19.
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