| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1955-07-26)July 26, 1955 (age 70) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Morton (Morton, Mississippi) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Mississippi College (1974–1977) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WBL draft | 1978: 1st round | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Chicago Hustle | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1981 | Chicago Hustle | ||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Mississippi College (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1983 | Mississippi College (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1990 | Mississippi College | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||
As player:
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Rita Gail Easterling (born July 26, 1955) is an American formerbasketball player. Called theQueen of the Floor Burns, she playedcollege basketball forMississippi College where she was named Kodak All-American in 1977.[1] She later played professionally for theChicago Hustle in theWomen's Professional Basketball League from 1978 to 1981 and was named the leagues MVP andAll-Star MVP in 1979.[2]
Prior to college, Easterling played basketball atMorton High School and in 1973 she was namedMississippi Miss Basketball.[3]
In 2011, Easterling was inducted into theMississippi Sports Hall of Fame.[4] She was inducted into theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.[5]
Easterling served as an assistant coach with theMississippi College women's basketball team after graduation. Following her professional career, she returned to Mississippi, first as an assistant coach but took over as head coach in 1983.[6]
