Sports
Georgetown women's basketball coach, former WNBA player Tasha Butts, dies at 41 – WJLA
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by 7News Staff
WASHINGTON (7News) — Tasha Butts, who became head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas women's basketball team in April after a long coaching and WNBA career has died, school officials confirmed Monday. She was 41.
Butts', a native of Milledgeville, Georgia, passed following a two-year battle with breast cancer. She is survived by her parents Spencer, Sr. and Evelyn, her brother Spencer, Jr., and her nephew Marquis along with an extended family, according to Georgetown University officials.
She took on the role of head coach after serving as associate head coach for the women's basketball team at Georgia Tech. She joined the Georgia Tech women's basketball staff as an assistant coach in April 2019 and was promoted to associate head coach in April 2021.
"Tasha's passing is a devastating loss. She was extraordinary—Tasha was a person of character, determination, vision, and kindness. She will be deeply missed by our community and by so many people around the country who have been inspired by her life. We offer her family our most sincere condolences," said University President John J. DeGioia in a statement.
Prior to taking on the role at Georgetown, Butts helped lead teams at Georgia Tech and Louisiana State University to multiple back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. She also served in leadership positions at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Duquesne University.
A four-year letter-winner at Tennessee, Butts helped the Lady Vols to a 124-17 record from 2000-04. Tennessee made a run to the Sweet 16 in her freshman campaign and advanced to the 2002 Final Four in her sophomore season. She then helped the Lady Vols to back-to-back National Championship games in her junior and senior seasons (2003, 2004). As a senior, Butts earned All-SEC Second Team honors after averaging 10.4 points per game and ranking second in the league in three-point field goal percentage (43.0).
Additionally, Butts was part of four SEC regular season championship teams, as Tennessee compiled a 55-1 SEC record in her four years.
Butts graduated from Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science in sports management while minoring in business administration in 2004. She was chosen by the Minnesota Lynx with the 20th selection in the 2004 WNBA Draft and saw action in all 30 games as a rookie, helping the club equal a franchise record with 18 wins and earn a spot in the playoffs.
Butts played overseas in the fall of 2005 for Essa/Barreiro in Portugal. The following season, she played for Raanana Herzliya in Israel, where she scored 15.5 points per game. Butts also played briefly with the Charlotte Sting and Houston Comets of the WNBA.
In August 2004, the city of Milledgeville, Ga. honored Butts with a key to the city and a proclamation of achievement on "Tasha Butts Day."
