MT_Swoopes
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Posted: 10/24/06 9:23 am ::: A Tribute To The Past Greats Of Women's Basketball |
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Nancy Elizabeth Lieberman
In 1974, while attending Far Rockaway High School in Queens, New York, she established herself as one of the top women's basketball players in the country by earning one of only 12 slots on the USA's National Team. The following year, Lieberman was named to the USA Team designated to play in the World Championships and Pan American Games where she brought home a gold medal in 1975 and a silver medal in 1979.
At age 17, Lieberman was named to the 1976 USA Women's Olympic Basketball Team, which she would compete at the Montreal Games in the first-ever Women's Olympic Basketball Team Competition. Shortly after turning 18, Lieberman became the youngest basketball player in Olympic history to win a medal as the United States captured the Silver Medal.
From 1976 to 1980, Lieberman attended Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and played on the women's basketball team there. During that time, she and her team won two consecutive AIAW National Championships (1979, 1980) and one NWIT (Women's National Invitation Tournament) Championship in 1978. She was the first two-time winner of the prestigious Wade Trophy, a national "player of the year" award in college women's basketball, and was selected as the Broderick Award winner for basketball as the top women's player in America. Lieberman also won three consecutive Kodak All-America awards (1978,'79,'80)
In 1980, Lieberman earned a slot on the 1980 Olympic team but elected to withdraw from the squad in support of U.S. President Jimmy Carter's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
In the 1980s, she dropped out of college to embark on a professional career in basketball. She played for several basketball teams and leagues, including the Dallas Diamonds of the Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL), then in a men's league called the United States Basketball League (USBL), and also with the Washington Generals, who served as the regular opponent of the Harlem Globetrotters. One of her teammates with the Generals was Tim Cline, and the two eventually married. They have since divorced.
She was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1996 and to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
In the newly-formed Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) inaugural year in 1997, Lieberman played for the Phoenix Mercury, even though she was 38.
In 1998, she was hired as General Manager and Head Coach of the WNBA's Detroit Shock, a team she coached for three seasons.
Carol Ann Blazejowski
Nicknamed "The Blaze", was a women's collegiate and professional basketball player. She is currently the General Manager of the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Using a jump shot patterned after what she saw in televised professional games, Blazejowski became one of the greatest scorers in the history of women's basketball, although she didn't begin serious competition until her senior year at Cranford High School in New Jersey.
At Montclair State College in Montclair, New Jersey, the 5-foot-10 (1.78 m) forward was a three-time All-American, from 1976 through 1978. Blazejowski won the inaugural Wade Trophy as the nation's finest collegiate woman player in 1978. She led the nation in scoring with 33.5 points per game in 1976/77 and 38.6 points per game in 1977/78. Blazejowski scored 40 or more points in each of her last three games. She set a Madison Square Garden record for either sex with 52 points in a 1978 game against Queens College. Her career tally in college of 3,199 points is only exceeded by the legendary "Pistol" Pete Maravich. Like Maravich, "The Blaze" played during an era without the three point shot.
Only an alternate on the 1976 Olympic team, she led the 1977 World University Games team in scoring and had 38 points in a losing effort against the Soviet Union.
After finishing her college career she played two seasons of AAU basketball with the Allentown, Pennsylvania, Crestettes. The leading scorer on the national team that won the 1979 world championship, she was chosen for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, but her hopes for a gold medal were crushed after the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
In 1980, Blazejowski became the highest-paid player in the Women's Pro Basketball League, signing a three-year contract for a reported $150,000 with the New Jersey Gems. However, the league folded after her first season, effectively ending her playing career.
After serving six years working in the front office of the National Basketball Association, Blazejowski was named Vice President and General Manager of the WNBA's New York Liberty on January 7, 1997.
In 1994, she was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1999, she was inducted into the inaugural class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Ann Elizabeth Meyers
Ann was a four year athletic scholarship player for the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team (1976–1979), the first woman to be so honored at any university.
On March 25th, 1978 her UCLA Bruin team was the AIAW national champion: UCLA defeated Maryland, 90–74 at Pauley Pavilion.
While at UCLA (1976–1979), she became the first four-time All American women's basketball player.
She was the winner of the Broderick Award as outstanding women's college basketball player of the year, as well as the Broderick Cup for outstanding woman athlete of the year in 1978.
Ann was a member of the USA Basketball team that won the 1975 Pan American Games Gold medal.
She played on the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won a Silver Medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. That team was led by Billie Moore, her own coach at UCLA.
She was on the 1979 USA Basketball team that won the FIBA Basketball World Championship Gold medal. This was the first time since 1957 that the United States won a World Championship title.
Ann was the first woman player drafted by the Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL) in 1978. Ann was the WBL Co-MVP for the 1979-1980.
In 1980, Ann made NBA history when she signed a $50,000 no-cut contract with NBA's Indiana Pacers. She participated in three-day tryouts for the team, the first by any woman for the NBA, but eventually was not chosen for the final squad.
She won TV's Women Superstars competition three consecutive years (1980–1982).
Her #15 basketball jersey was one of the first four retired by UCLA. She was honored on February 3rd, 1990 in a ceremony in Pauley Pavilion, along with Denise Curry (#12), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#33), and Bill Walton (#32). This was the key moment in the "Pauley at 25" celebration of twenty-five years of the arena.
On May 10, 1993, she was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts.
On January 31, 1995, she attended a ceremony in the gym of her high school, Sonora High School, in La Habra, California, where her player jersey was officially retired, and hung in display.
She was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 1995.
On June 5th, 1999, she was inducted as a charter member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In 2001, Ann was honored as a Wooden All-Time All-American by the Wooden award.
In 1986, she married former Los Angeles Dodger Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, and took the name Ann Meyers-Drysdale. It was the first time that a married couple were members of their respective sports' Halls of Fame. Meyers and Drysdale had three children together: D.J. (son), Drew (daughter), and Darren (son).
She was widowed on July 3, 1993 when Don died of a heart attack in Montreal, Canada, and she later changed back to her maiden name.
Lusia Harris Stewart
Today, Lusia Harris-Stewart teaches at Central High School in Ruleville, Mississippi. Do you think her students know that she was one of the greatest centers ever to play women's basketball and a big part of basketball history long before her induction into the Hall of Fame? Fact is, Harris-Stewart was a member of the first-ever women's Olympic team in 1976, and scored the game's first points. She ended her remarkable career with a silver medal in the 1976 Olympics and the 1977 AIAW national championship. As her records and statistics suggest, Lusia Harris-Stewart changed the face of women's basketball during her four-year career at Delta State. When she graduated in 1977, Harris-Stewart held 15 of 18 Delta State team, single game and career records. The dominating center finished her career with 2,981 career points (25.9 ppg) and 1,662 rebounds (14.4 rpg). While playing for Hall of Fame coach Margaret Wade, the three-time All-America led the Lady Statesmen to three consecutive AIAW national championships in 1975, 1976 and 1977, and an amazing 109-6 overall record. Harris-Stewart, a 1973 graduate of Amanda Eizy High School, was a member of the 1975 gold medal Pan Am team.
*Three-time All-America
*Four-time All-State, All-Region, team MVP and team high scorer
*Played for Hall of Fame coach Margaret Wade and led Lady Statesmen to three consecutive AIAW national championships (1975-77) and an amazing 109-6 overall record
*Once scored 58 points in a single game
*Member, gold medal-winning Pan American Games team (1975)
Member, U.S. World Games team (1975)
Member, first women's Olympic team
Olympic silver medal (1976)
Set Madison Square Garden record of 47 points against Queens (1976)
When she graduated, she held 15 of 18 Delta State team, single game and career records
Finished college career with 2,981 points (25.9 ppg) and 1,662 rebounds (14.4 rpg)
Enshrined in Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1991)
Cheryl Miller
A former college basketball player and coach, and considered by many the best female player in the history of the game. Her superior athletic ability and engaging personality made her an elite figure in sports.
Many basketball followers say that Cheryl Miller did for women's basketball what Julius Erving did for men's basketball: she took the game off the court and put it into the air. With tremendous grace and athletic ability, Miller established a legacy throughout her high school and college career that may never be equaled.
Miller played at Riverside Polytechnic High School (1978–1982) where she was a four-year letter winner and led her team to a 132-4 record. She was the first player, male or female, to be named an All-American by Parade magazine four times. Averaging 32.8 points and 15.0 rebounds a game, Miller was Street & Smith's national High School Player of the Year in both 1981 and 1982. During her senior year she scored 105 points in one game against Norte Vista High School.
In a spectacular career at the University of Southern California (USC), the 6 ft. 2 in. (1.87 m) Miller played the forward position. She was a four-year letter winner, and scored 3,018 career points (second to Hall of Famer Carol Blazejowski) and was a four-time All-American. Miller was named Naismith College Player of the Year three times and earned the Wade Trophy once. At USC, Miller led the Trojans to a 112-20 record and NCAA titles in 1983 and 1984 and was named NCAA Tournament MVP both years. During her senior season, Miller picked up her third Naismith Award, the Broderick Award as the Female College Basketball Player of the Year, and established several USC records, including points (3,018, 23.6 PPG), rebounds (1,534, 12.0 rpg), field goals made (1,159), free throws made (700) and steals (462). Sports Illustrated magazine called her the best basketball player in the nation, male or female (1986).
Miller led the U.S. team to the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and was also part of the gold medal teams at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela and 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow.
In 1986, Miller became the first female ever nominated for the Sullivan Award, and in that same year, USC retired her #31 jersey (the same number Reggie wore with University of California, Los Angeles and the Indiana Pacers), making Miller the first Trojan athlete to be so honored.
After graduating from USC in 1986, she was drafted by several professional basketball leagues, including the United States Basketball League, a men's league. However, in the late 1980s, Miller suffered knee injuries that prevented her from continuing her playing career. From 1986 to 1991, she worked as an assistant coach at USC and as a television sports commentator.
Miller was named Head Coach at USC and coached two seasons (1993-95). Her teams had a combined 44-14 record and went to the NCAA tournament both seasons, making a Regional Final once. She then coached for four seasons (1997-2000) with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, where she also served as General Manager. "Run, run, run, run, run," Miller said about her kind of team. "Play some outstanding defense. I want this team to be physical, I want them to know the game." In 1998, Miller coached the Mercury to the WNBA Finals, where her team lost to the Houston Comets. She resigned after the 2000 season, citing fatigue.
Hortência Maria de Fátima Marcari
Marcari is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She is known in her country as Hortência, and her nickname is The Queen.
Hortência began to play as a professional with the Sao Caetano Esporte Clube, becoming a celebrity over Brazil instantly. Over the years, she played for Associação Prudentina, C.A Minercal, C.A Consteca/Sedox, NCNB Ponte Preta and ADC Seara, until she retired from professional basketball in 1996, one year before Arcain began playing in the United States' WNBA. Hortência was an idol to many female basketball fans in the cities she played at, particularly at Prudentina, where, during an interview with Jeremy Larner, she was stopped many times by autograph seekers on her way from her house to a game.
Hortência's first international experience came in 1976, when Brazil's women's national basketball team won the South American juvenile championship in Paraguay. In 1979, she helped her team to a fourth place at the Pan American Games, held in Puerto Rico. In 1983, Hortência and the national team improved their previous Pan American performance by winning a bronze medal at the Venezuela games, and, in 1987, Hortência and the Brazilian Women's national team went yet one more step further by winning a silver medal at the 1987 Indianapolis Pan Americans. In 1991, Hortência and the Brazilian women's national basketball team won the gold medal at that year's Pan American tournament, held in Cuba. In 1992, Hortência helped her team to a bronze medal at the Pre-Olympic competition, held in Spain, returning later that year to that country to play in the Olympic Games for the first time. Brazil arrived in seventh place at the Barcelona Olympics.
In 1994, Hortência won the women's world basketball championship in Australia alongside her Brazilian teammates, and in 1996, she retired from international competition with a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics.
Apart from those competitions, she also played in Peru, Singapore, Malaysia, Bulgaria and South Korea.
Teresa Edwards
Edwards began her career at the University of Georgia where she was a two time All-American. She also led her team, nicknamed The Bulldogs, to the Final Four on two occasions. She also played in her first Olympic Games as a collegian, in 1984.
After Edwards graduated, she went abroad as there was not a professional basketball league for women in the United States. She played abroad for nine seasons splitting time between Italy, Japan, Spain, and France (Tarbes and Valenciennes). During this time, she also continued to appear in international competition.
After the 1994 season, she stayed in the United States to train for her fourth Olympic appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Edwards was selected to take the competitors' oath at the Opening Ceremonies in Atlanta.
Edwards is the first basketball player -- male or female -- to have played in five Olympics. She competed for the United States in international competition a total of 19 times. Her teams won 14 gold medals.
She also holds the unique distinction of being in the youngest gold medalist in women's basketball (age 20 in 1984) and the oldest gold medalist in women's basketball (age 36 in 2000).
She made a record fifth Olympic basketball team, earning a fourth gold medal to go with her bronze medal. She returned to Europe in 2002.
Cynthia Lynne Cooper
Cooper was a star player at the University of Southern California where she won two national titles and was a freshman All-American in 1982. After graduating in 1986, she later played internationally in professional leagues in Italy, before arriving in the newly-formed WNBA in 1997.
Cooper was voted the WNBA's MVP in 1997 and 1998 and also won four WNBA Championships with the Houston Comets. During the Comet dynasty, she was a vital part of the triple threat offense with Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson. When retired in 2000, Cooper became the first player in WNBA history to score 500, 1,000 and 2,000 and 2,500 career points. She scored 30 or more points in 16 of her 120 games and had a 92-game double-figure scoring streak from 97-00. She went on to coach the Phoenix Mercury for one and a half seasons.
Cooper returned as an active player in the 2003 season, but announced her final retirement from professional basketball in 2004.
In May 2005, Cooper was named the Head Coach of the women's basketball team at Prairie View A&M University.
Anne Donovan
From 1979 to 1983, Anne Donovan was the most dominant player in women's college basketball. She was an aggressive player, yet always played under control. A three-time All-America selection at Old Dominion University, Donovan was the game's premier player at a time when women's basketball gained national prominence. At 6-foot-8, Donovan owned the area under the basket, averaging a double-double (20.0 ppg and 14.5 rpg) in her college career. Donovan guided Old Dominion to the NCAA Final Four in 1983, earning the Naismith Player of the Year Award. In her freshman season, she powered ODU to a 37-1 record and the 1979 AIAW National Championship. In the process, Donovan joined a select group of players that have won national championships their first season. Donovan, an agile and mobile player, led the nation in rebounding in 1982 with 14.7 rpg. She ended her career at Old Dominion as the Lady Monarchs' all-time leading scorer (2,719 points), rebounder (1,976) and shot blocker (801).
Donovan's aggressive style at the college level proved equally successful at the international level. A three-time Olympian (1980, 1984, 1988), Donovan led the United States to Gold Medal victories in 1984 and 1988. She played for the U.S. in two World Championships (1983 and 1986), winning the gold medal in 1986. A two-time Wade Trophy finalist (1982 and 1983), Donovan played professionally for five years in Japan and one year in Italy.
Lynette Woodard
Lynette Woodard enjoyed a phenomenal basketball career at the scholastic, collegiate, professional and international level. Widely considered one of the greatest female players of all time, her magnetic personality and warm smile could not hide her intense desire to outdo her opponent and win basketball games. Woodard was a three-time All-State and a 1977 All-America selection at Wichita North High School, and led her team to state championships in 1975 and 1977. She attended Kansas University where she ended her career as a four-time All-America and the leading scorer in the history of women’s basketball with 3,649 points. A versatile performer who was capable of playing all five positions on the court, Woodard dominated the women’s game, leading the nation in scoring in 1979, rebounding in 1978 and steals in 1979, 1980 and 1981. She was a four-time Big 8 selection, MVP of the Big 8 Tournament in 1979, 1980 and 1981, and was later named Conference Player of the Decade for the 1980s. Woodard scored in double figures in 138 of 139 career games, and completed her college career ranking first in eight statistical categories at Kansas including points, rebounds and steals.
Woodard received the Wade Trophy as the nation’s top female basketball player in 1981, the Broderick Award as the nation’s top female athlete in 1982, and was the first female to receive the NCAA’s Top Five Award in 1982.
On the international level, Woodard was a member of the 1980 Olympic Team and co-captained the Gold Medal Olympic team in 1984. She also earned medals at the 1983 (Silver) and 1990 (Gold) World Championships, the 1983 (Gold) and 1991 (Bronze) Pan American Games, and a Gold Medal at the 1979 World University Games. Woodard enjoyed a successful professional career playing overseas in Italy and later Japan. She led the Italian League in scoring in 1982 and 1989. In 1989 she propelled Eni-Chem of Priolo to the Italian National Championship. In 1985, Woodard became the first female member of the famed Harlem Globetrotters.
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