Rutgers' freshman sensation Tasha Pointer and teammate Tomura Young were named co-winners of the 1997-98 Division I Women's Player of the Year award by the Met Basketball Writers Association.

Marking the only time the MBWA has bestowed co-winners for this prestigious award, Pointer became the first freshman to earn this honor, which was presented on Wednesday, April 29, at the 65th NIT/MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner at the Meadowlands' Pegasus West in East Rutherford, NJ.

The Chicago native earned a number of accolades during her time at RU, including being named the 1998 Big East Rookie of the Year. The 5-6 guard led the Scarlet Knights in scoring (14.0), assists (5.6) and steals (3.1), and placed second in field goal percentage (.471) and fourth in rebounding (4.2).

Pointer led the team to wins over No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 UConn in 1998, helping Rutgers become the first unranked team to defeat both a No. 1 and a No. 2 team. When her RU career was done, the point guard had set the program's all-time assists and steals records - men's and women's - with 839 assists and 292 steals, while compliing 1,456 career points.

Pointer was drafted by the WNBA's Portland Fire in 2001, and in 2003 she was named to the BIG EAST 25th Anniversary Hall of Fame Team.