Alice Ruth Bolton (born May 25, 1967), known as Ruthie Bolton, is an American former professional

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

player. Born in Lucedale, Mississippi, she played at the collegiate, Olympic and professional levels of women's basketball. Bolton played in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) from 1997 through 2004 with the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Aren ...

. She played collegiately at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, teaming with her older sister, Mae Ola Bolton. She was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 2011. Bolton has also served as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

s as a transportation officer.

Professional career

Bolton started her professional career for the Visby Ladies in Sweden during the 1990–91 season. The following season, she played in Hungary, becoming the first USA woman to play professionally in the country. She spent the 1992–93 season with C.A. Fainzia in Italy, averaging 26 points per game. In 1994, Bolton moved to Italy to play for Erreti Faenza. During the 1993–94 season, she averaged 28 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. She stayed with Faenza the following season where she averaged 25.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. During the 1995–96 season, Bolton played in Turkey. On January 22, 1997, Bolton was selected with the 13th pick of the initial player allocation for the

1997 WNBA draft The 1997 WNBA draft was the 1st draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three d ...

by the

. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 73 - 61 win over the

Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Salt Lake City. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. History One of the eight original WNBA teams, the Starzz ...

where she recorded 16 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals. Thanks to this stat line, Bolton recorded the 2nd ever double-double in WNBA history. The first one happening earlier that day on June 21 in a

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

and

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

matchup where

Lisa Leslie Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is formerly the head coach for Triplets (basketball), Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando ...

recorded 16 points and 14 rebounds. Bolton would play 8 years in the WNBA from 1997 to 2004, all 8 seasons with the Monarchs and she was one of the franchise's marquee players. For the 1998 season, she only played 5 games due to dealing with a near career-ending knee injury, but she bounced back and made the All-Star team in the 1999 season. She made the All-Star team again in 2001 season. Throughout her 8 seasons with the team, Bolton and the Monarchs made the playoffs 5 times. Although they didn't reach the Finals during this period, the team reached the Western Conference Finals in 2001, 2003 and 2004. Bolton's final game was played in Game 3 of the 2004 Western Conference Finals on October 5, 2004 against the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

. The Monarchs would lose the game 62 - 82 and be eliminated from the playoffs with Bolton recording 4 points and 1 steal in her final game.

Feeling of Rejection by the Sacramento Monarchs

After the crushing playoff elimination in 2004, Bolton would reluctantly retire from the WNBA. Bolton has gone on record saying that she was not ready to retire at the end of the 2004 season and she felt that she was pressured to retire by the Monarchs' organization, so that they can develop their younger talent such as Rebekkah Brunson and Nicole Powell. To make matters worse, the first year that Bolton wasn't on the team, the Monarchs finally overcame the hurdle and won their first WNBA Championship in 2005 by defeating the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...

3 - 1 in a best-of-five series. Bolton cites this time as one of the darkest and most hurtful periods of her lifetime. She signed a training camp contract with the Monarchs on April 23, 2005 but did not make the final team and was waived on May 9, being told by Monarchs' staff that although they appreciated her efforts and loyalty to the franchise, she simply did not have it anymore and that retiring would be the better option. Bolton's father also died in 2005. Due to losing her father, being coerced into retiring and having to watch the Monarchs win their first championship immediately after she left the team, Bolton says that she felt abandoned by the franchise and that every aspect of her life came to a screeching halt. She told Sky Sports "It felt like rejection. My father had passed away at the time and he was my rock and I couldn't talk to him. He was my anchor. Dealing with that at the time, and retiring from something I'd done for 25 years, it all came to a screeching halt. I had to really dig deep and pray, I had to face my adversaries. I felt like the organization had done me wrong. That situation was so easy for me to become unhealthy mentally, as I was still working for the organization and had to show up to work every day."

WNBA career statistics

Regular Season

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1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, align="left" ,

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, 23 , , 23 , , 35.3 , , .402 , , .344 , , .768 , , 5.8 , , 2.6 , , 2.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , , 19.4 , - , align="left" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

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, 5 , , 4 , , 26.6 , , .293 , , .154 , , .607 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , , 11.0 , - , align="left" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, align="left" ,

, 31 , , 30 , , 31.3 , , .364 , , .321 , , .798 , , 4.3 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , , 13.6 , - , align="left" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, align="left" ,

, 29 , , 29 , , 29.9 , , .361 , , .313 , , .762 , , 3.7 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 1.6 , , 13.1 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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, 31 , , 0 , , 18.8 , , .338 , , .364 , , .692 , , 3.0 , , 1.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 1.3 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, align="left" ,

, 32 , , 1 , , 23.0 , , .396 , , .326 , , .727 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.1 , , 1.1 , , 10.9 , - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, align="left" ,

, 33 , , 0 , , 15.8 , , .314 , , .192 , , .769 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 0.6 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, align="left" ,

, 34 , , 4 , , 13.8 , , .370 , , .405 , , .737 , , 1.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 4.7 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 8 years, 1 team , 218 , , 91 , , 23.4 , , .367 , , .319 , , .746 , , 3.1 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 1.2 , , 10.0

Postseason

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, 1 , , 1 , , 32.0 , , .400 , , .167 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 15.0 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 2 , , 2 , , 35.0 , , .382 , , .286 , , 1.000 , , 4.5 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , , 19.5 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 24.2 , , .386 , , .391 , , .923 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 11.0 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 6 , , 0 , , 15.2 , , .214 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 6 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .167 , , .000 , , .750 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 5 years, 1 team , 20 , , 3 , , 18.4 , , .324 , , .266 , , .929 , , 2.3 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 1.3 , , 6.7

USA Basketball

Bolton was named to the team representing the US at the World University Games held during July 1991 in

Sheffield, England Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its southe ...

. While the USA team had won gold in 1983, they finished with the silver in 1985, in fifth place in 1987, and did not field a team in 1989. The team was coached by Tara VanDerveer of Stanford. After winning opening games easily, the USA faced China in the medal round. The USA shot only 36% from the field, but limited the team from China to 35%, and won 79–76 to advance to the gold medal game. There they faced 7–0 Spain, but won 88–62 to claim the gold medal. Bolton was the team's leading scorer with 14 points per game, just ahead of

's 13 points per game. In 1994, Bolton-Holifield was named to the national team which competed in the World Championships in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. The team was coached by Tara VanDerveer. The team won their early games, then advanced to the medal rounds and faced Brazil. Despite 17 points from Bolton-Holifield and 29 from

Katrina McClain Katrina Felicia McClain (born September 19, 1965) is a retired American basketball player. She played for the University of Georgia, as well as many USA Basketball teams including three Olympic teams. McClain was inducted into the Women's Basketb ...

, the USA fell 110–107 when Brazil hit ten of ten free throws in the final minute. The USA went on to defeat Australia 100–95 to claim the bronze medal. Bolton continued with the national team to the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Bolton was the leading scorer in the game against Ukraine, with 21 points. She helped the team win all eight games to win the gold medal for the USA team. Bolton averaged 12.8 points per game and led the team in steals with 23. The national team traveled to

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

in July and August 1998 for the FIBA World Championships. The USA team won a close opening game against Japan 95–89, then won their next six games easily. In the semifinal game against Brazil, the USA team was behind as much as ten points in the first half. Bolton hit a three pointer in the second half to give her team the lead, as part of a 16-point scoring effort, and the USA went on to win 93–79. The gold medal game was a rematch against Russia. In the first game, the USA team dominated almost from the beginning, but in the rematch, the team from Russia took the early lead and led much of the way. With under two minutes remaining, the USA was down by two points when Bolton hit a three pointer to give the USA a lead. Russia tied the game, but Bolton hit another three to give the USA a lead they would not give up. The USA held on to win the gold medal 71–65. Bolton continued with the national team to the 2000 Olympics in

. The USA won all eight games, including the gold medal game against host Australia to win the gold medal. Bolton averaged 5.0 points per game.

Auburn statistics

Source

Current activities

After being released by the Monarchs as an active player in 2005, she returned to the Monarchs to work in their front office, specializing in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

. In 2004 and 2005, she served as the head coach for the women's basketball team at William Jessup University, a California Pacific Conference school in

Rocklin, California Rocklin is a city in Placer County, California, United States, about from Sacramento, and about northeast of Roseville in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Besides Roseville, it shares borders with Granite Bay, Loomis and Lincoln. As of th ...

. Currently Bolton is the head coach for women's basketball at Vacaville Christian High School in

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County, California, United States. It is located from Sacramento, California, Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is on the edge of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The city was founded in ...

; she also dabbles in gospel singing. Ms. Bolton has also been an active participant in the Sport Diplomacy Sports Envoy program for the U.S. Department of State. In this function, she has traveled to

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

to conduct basketball clinics for approximately 1300 youth and women worldwide. In so doing, Bolton helped contribute to the Sport Diplomacy's mission to promote greater understanding and inclusion through sport and supported the U.S. foreign policy goal of advancing the status of women and girls around the world. She currently lives in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. Ruthie Bolton continues to work with the Golden State Warriors participating in many of their youth camps. She also continues to do her 'AIM HIGH' program at many junior high and high schools throughout Sacramento County and beyond. Ruthie Bolton is now endorsing the opening of "Ruthie's Place" which will be located in the Oak Park area of Sacramento. Ruthie's Place will be a place for (1) Trauma Informed Domestic Violence Support Center for women and families (2) The first youth drop in support services center for girls and LGBTQ youth that are being exploited and sex trafficked throughout Sacramento County (3) Boutique Thrift Center that is a social renewal model (Teach one, reach one). Ruthie is collaborating with A Community For Peace (ACFP) on Ruthie's Place. www.acommunityforpeace.org. In 2014, Ruthie was inducted into the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame. Ruthie Bolton is a published author who has written two books (1) From Pain to Peace and (2) The Ride of a Lifetime.

References

External links

WNBA player profileCoaching profile at William Jessup University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Ruthie 1967 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Sweden American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Auburn Tigers women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Mississippi Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Mississippi Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Lucedale, Mississippi Sacramento Monarchs players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Elk Grove, California Basketball players from Sacramento County, California FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Summer World University Games medalists in basketball WNBA All-Stars Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen United States women's national basketball team players