Not much has come easily for C. Vivian Stringer during her Hall of Fame coaching career.

So it was fitting that it took her five tries to become the fourth women's basketball coach to have 900 victories. She finally reached the milestone Tuesday night with Rutgers' 68-56 win over South Florida.

Stringer joined Pat Summitt, Jody Conradt and Sylvia Hatchell in the exclusive club. Maybe a half dozen more women's coaches might gain entrance over the next few years. Only three Division I men's coaches have reached 900 victories - Mike Krzyzewski, Bob Knight and Jim Boeheim.

Stringer, who was the first coach in men's or women's basketball to take three different schools to the Final Four - including Rutgers in 2000 and `07 - fought back tears as her team celebrated their coach's entrance to the group.