Sport: Basketball
Born: May 7, 1986
Town: Newark, New Jersey
Matee Ajavon was born May 7, 1986 in Monrovia, Liberia and grew up in Newark, NJ. She immigrated to the United States at the age of six with her family. Friendly and athletic, Matee fit right into the city’s basketball culture. She was instantly recognizable from her smile. In 2000, Matee enrolled at Malcolm Shabazz High School and became a standout on Vanessa Watson’s varsity despite her 5’8” height.
As a junior and again as a senior, Matee led Shabazz to victory in New Jersey’s Tournament of Champions, marking the first time a school had won back-to-back titles. A recruiting target for many programs, she was one of 20 players invited to participate in the WBCA All-Star Game.
Matee accepted a scholarship from Rutgers in 2004 and won a starting job with Vivian Stringer’s powerhouse squad as a freshman. Matee turned in solid numbers on offense and defense. She averaged just over 12 points per game—a stat she would repeat in all four varsity seasons. In March, Rutgers reached the Elite Eight of the 2005 NCAA Tournament before losing to Tennessee. The Scarlet Knights would fall to the Vols again in 2006, this time in their Sweet 16 meeting. Matee was named Big East Freshman of the Year after the season.
Matee continued to put up solid stats as a junior in 2006–07, leading a team without a single senior. It was a well-balanced group, however, with three other players averaging 12 points a contest: junior Essence Carson, sophomore Kia Vaughn and freshman Epiphany Prince. They raised a few eyebrows when they upended UConn 55–47 to win the Big East Tournament, but understandably, the young squad went into the 2007 NCAA tournament as an underdog, ranked #15 in the country.
Wins over ECU and Michigan State set up a showdown against top-seeded Duke in the Sweet 16—a game played in Greensboro, Duke’s backyard. The first half was a defensive battle, but both teams caught fire in the final 20 minutes. Matee led Rutgers with 20 points and the Scarlet Knights held a 53–52 lead with time ticking away. However, Myia McCurdy fouled ACC Player of the Year Lindsey Harding with one second to go, putting her on the line with a chance to win the game. Harding shockingly missed both free throws to give Rutgers a stunning upset. Rutgers blew out Arizona State to secure a spot in the Final Four and then advanced to the championship game with another dominant victory, over LSU. Matee was the team’s top scorer in both contests, with 20 and 16 points, respectively.
It seemed only fitting that the Tennessee Volunteers would be their opponent in the Finals. Unfortunately, Pat Summitt’s squad ended Matee’s season for the third year in a row. The Vols built an 11-point halftime lead and cruised to a 59–46 win.
The team’s great run was followed by controversy when shock jock Don Imus referred to the players as “nappy-headed ho’s.” The joke backfired, setting in motion a series of events that still echo today. Imus was fired from his morning radio show, which was televised on MSNBC. The replacement program ended up being Morning Joe, with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who were later married. A public apology was arranged at the governor’s mansion, but on the way there, Governor John Corzine was critically injured in a high-speed car wreck. Corzine recovered but lost his next election to Chris Christie.
Matee played for Team USA in the Pan American Games that summer and won a gold medal. She returned to New Jersey and finished her college career in 2007–08 with a personal-best 5.3 assists per game. Rutgers made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament and faced UConn, to whom they had lost four weeks earlier in their final regular-season game. The Huskies beat them again, 66–56. Matee scored 18 points in her final game for the Scarlet Knights.
Matee was taken in the first round of the WNBA Draft by the Houston Comets and averaged 8.0 points per game coming off the bench as a rookie. After the season, she played professionally in Instanbul for the first of three winter seasons. The Comets folded after the 2008 campaign and Matee was taken by the Washington Mystics in the dispersal draft. She was a reserve again, but in 2011, she earned a starting role and averaged 14.7 points and 3.1 assists per game.
After two more seasons as a starter for Washington, Matee finished her career as a sub for coach Michael Cooper with the Atlanta Dream. At the time she retired after the 2017 season, she was still the only Liberian to ever play in the WNBA. In 2018, Matee was honored by the Carnegie Institute on its Great Immigrant list.
During her pro career, Matee explored various entrepreneurial opportunities and got involved in the apparel, music and coaching industries—and established her own elite basketball training center.