Salem To Retire First Female Athlete's Jersey In School History

SALEM, MA — Former Salem High basketball star and longtime teacher and coach Evelyn Oquendo will become the first woman to have her uniform number retired in school history at a ceremony next week.

Oquendo's No. 24 will be retired at 5:30 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Field House. The public is invited to attend the event that will celebrate the starting point guard on the 1979-1980 undefeated state championship girls basketball team.

She was named to the 1982 Boston Globe Girls All-Scholastic Basketball Team and helped lead her team to the 1982 North Region championship as well. She was inducted into the Salem High School
Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997.

Oquendo went on to become a three-time All-American and Division III national champion at Salem State University. She remains the Vikings' all-time leading scorer with 1,738 points and was inducted into the Salem State Hall of Fame in 1991.

Her No. 24 jersey is also retired at the university.

Oquendo has spent the last 20 years teaching, coaching, and mentoring youth throughout Salem.

She has been a physical education teacher at Collins Middle School since 2007 and was the head coach of the high school girls basketball team from 2017 through 2022.

"Oquendo's commitment to Salem students is unmatched and her legacy is cemented as an athlete, coach, and mentor within the walls of Salem Public Schools and beyond," Salem High Athletic Director Reilly Christie said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)