TEAM USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL1976

Front row kneeling:
Nancy Lieberman, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Sue Rojcewicz, Juliene Simpson

Second row standing:
Gail Weldon (Trainer, Dec'd.), Cynthia "Cindy" Brogdon, Mary Anne O'Connor, Pat Head Summitt (Dec'd.), Billie Jean Moore (Coach), Sue Gunter (Assistant Coach, Dec'd.)

Third row standind:
Jeanne Rowlands (Manager, Dec'd.), Trish Roberts, Gail Marquis, Nancy Dunkle, Lusia "Lucy" Harris-Stewart, Charlotte Lewis (Dec'd.)

The sports world was shocked late last month when former Tennessee women’s baketball coach Pat Summitt lost her battle with Alzheimer’s at the age of 64.

Many people have expressed their feelings on the loss of Summitt and what her legacy meant to not only women’s basketball, but sports as a whole. Queens College women’s hoops legends Gail Marquis, Lucille Kyvallos and Donna Orender are the latest to share their memories of the one-of-a-kind coach.

Marquis, a two-time All-American at Queens College, and Summitt were teammates on the first USA Women’s Olympic Basketball Team in 1976. Summitt was the team’s co-captain at the time and while she wasn’t the most dominant player on the court, she was certainly the most determined.

“She wasn’t the best player on the team, but she was the grittest,” Marquis said. “Pat was a talker. A lot of chatter. Sometimes she would pull the tail of my T-shirt and without looking at me, just say a few encouraging words or give a bit of direction on how to handle a drill or option on a play.”

Kyvallos built her legacy at Queens College, but also has ties to USA Basketball, coaching the 1977 team at the World University Games.

Although Summitt was not part of that squad, Kyvallos was quick to point out that her impact on the game, even then, was undeniable.

“(She) was a formidable figure in women’s collegiate basketball,” Kyvallos said. “Among her hallmarks were the tenacious defensive systems she employed with her teams which served as models for other programs. It is sad to lose such a stellar coaching figure as Pat Summitt at such a young age.”

Orender echoed the sentiment, citing Summitt’s presence on the sidelines as paving the way for future female athletes.“Coach Summitt set the bar high both on the court and in life,” she said. “Hers is a forever legacy where her wins will always be measured in the hearts of those she has touched and inspired. Her reach is wide and deep, and that is what made her so special. It is an honor to have known her, to have been encouraged by her and to have watched her work!”

Summitt’s coaching legacy is almost incalculable, but the numbers are still as impressive as ever.She led the Lady Vols to 1,098 victories—the most in Division I college basketball history, either men’s or women’s—before retiring in 2012. Summitt won eight national titles in her 38 seasons with the program and was named NCAA Coach of the Year seven times.
In addition to coaching at Tennessee, Summitt coached the U.S. National Team to gold at the 1984 Olympic Games and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000, the same year she was named the Naismith Coach of the Century. Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Summitt’s impact on the game is unquestionable, her determination, her competitive edge influencing athletes – both male and female. Even in Queens, some 700 miles from Tennessee, Summitt’s influence, and her loss, are keenly felt.

“The legacy of Pat Summitt will no doubt include the wins and eight national titles,” Marquis said. “Her legacy is the 161 student athletes that played and graduated with degrees and are now in the world as players, coaches, and women contributing to the world.”

©2016 Community News Group

Former Queens College stars remember first women’s hoops game at MSG

Here is the edited article as it appears in the online edition of the Times Ledger

History was made on Feb. 22, 1975 when the Queens College women’s basketball was part of the first women’s hoops game at Madison Square Garden. The inaugural game against Immaculata may have been a 65-61 loss, but to coach Lucille Kyvallos, it was a win for women’s equality in sports.

History will repeat itself this Sunday when the two teams square off again at MSG as part of the Maggie Dixon Classic to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first game. The game will start at 10:30 a.m. and will be followed by the featured contest between St. John’s University and University of Connecticut at 1 p.m. Queens College is 7-2 overall and 4-0 in East Coast Conference play.

The Knights taking the court again at Madison Square Garden brings back fond memories to those who were there back in 1975. Donna Chait (Orender) remembers that day and the crowd of more than 12,000 like it was yesterday. She can still hear Helen Reddy singing “I Am Woman” and the sense of importance surrounding the game.

“That game was truly a milestone event in women’s basketball as well as all of sports,” said Orender, the former president of the WNBA. “To play in the mecca of basketball, to break the gender barrier if you will, was remarkable. The excitement around the game is something I will never forget.”

Teammate Gail Marquis went on to make her mark as a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team that earned a silver medal. She also was a member of the first women’s professional basketball team, the New York Stars of the Women’s Basketball League, to call Madison Square Garden their home court and won a championship in 1980. Even with all she accomplished, playing on the Madison Square Garden floor with Queens College was the thrill of a lifetime.

“I was a teenager on the same court as some of my pro basketball favorites like Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe,” Marquis said. “And as I was warming up, I did think about being a woman in a man’s world and taking a small step forward to make it equal for all of us.”

Sharon Manning went from player to eventual Queens College head coach in 1982, and from 1999-2002, she served as the head women’s basketball coach at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is currently the athletic director of the College of New Jersey. She, Maryann Jecewiz, and a few of their other former teammates plan on attending the game at Madison Square Garden Sunday. There will certainly be plenty of reminiscing going on.

The year after the inaugural game, Queens College played against Delta at Madison Square Garden. Margaret Wade, coach of Delta, and Rob Franklin, head of collegiate basketball at MSG, presented an award in recognition to Kyvallos for bringing women’s college basketball to MSG and to national recognition.

“I remember my first interview for a coaching position,” Jecewiz said. “The athletic director said to me ‘You played for Lucille Kyvallos. This position is yours if you want it.’ That is what an influence Kyvallos had.”

©2014 Community News Group

FORMER HEAD COACH LUCILLE KYVALLOS ON MSG EVENT

It will be 40 years since women’s basketball was first introduced at Madison Square Garden as the commemorative event will occur on Jan.4^th.   Head Coach Lucille Kyvallos lead the Queens College 1975 team to this historic day.  How did it all occur?

“In order to promote girls' and women's basketball  I brought the  AIAW National Women's Collegiate Basketball Championship to Queens College and the New York metropolitan area in 1973,” Kyvallos said. I calculated that this event would serve as a model and learning experience for girls' high schools and women's college basketball programs that were emerging at the time in the area.”

Sixteen teams from all regions of the United States qualified for a spot in this National Championship. Teams from as far west as California and as far south as Texas traveled to compete in this Championship.”

The media response was astonishing due to the work of our SID, Ed Jawarski.  Radio, television and newsprint, interviewed coaches and players, and covered games reporting and narrating the results of the games and the exciting level of competitiveness and performances of players and teams.”

Spectators filled the Queens College gymnasium during the course of the tournament games and there was standing room only for the final championship game between Queens College and Immaculata College. It was an exciting championship game with IC beating QC and becoming the 1973 AIAW National Women's Collegiate Basketball Champions.”

The following year in a regularly scheduled game Queens College beat the two-time National Champs, Immaculata College,  breaking their 2 1/2 year win streak. This monumental achievement was major news and quickly reached all corners of the country.”

Propelled by the excitement and interest in the 1973 AIAW National Women's Collegiate Basketball Championship and by the QC win over IC, MSG contacted me inviting Queens College to play in the famous arena and to select the opponent of their own choice.  I realized the national and historical significance of this opportunity to play in MSG, and, chose as

opponent Immaculata College.”

The day of the game QC and IC took the floor before close to 12,000 spectators. The lead changed hands continuously and the noise was deafening. At the end QC lost to IC by 5 points but the success of this game set the stage for several (I think 4) more years of women's collegiate basketball in MSG.”

The significance of this game in MSG, with the nation watching, was groundbreaking, historical in scope, and a tangible model for young girls and women to aspire. It paved the way, opened up new avenues for athletic programs and athletic development for girls and women to become skillful and disciplined in sport endeavors.”

And now 40 years later this event is celebrated as a groundbreaking occurrence in the history of women's collegiate basketball.”

Bet Naumovski, the present QC Women's Basketball coach will vie a game between QC and

Immaculata.  What is Kyvallos’ take on Bet?  “She is doing a great job and has lifted the standard of 

the program to a superior level of excellence.  Her current record of 7-2 and 4-0 in her conference is 

very impressive.  She did a great job last year and was selected coach of the year in her conference.”

The hype of QC’s team is the Rowland sisters, Madison and MacKenzie, who have been playing

basketball with each other since childhood.  They tend to score doubles-doubles in the games. 

Madison has gotten much kudos, although MacKenzie, the older one, doesn’t lag behind. 

Both are totally excited about being able to play at MSG.

Naumovski has been coaching basketball for about 17 years, four with this team.  “I am preparing just

like any other game,” said Bet. “The team is emotionally ready and not overexcited. I did have 

experience coaching a team at an arena in Toronto as well as having attended NY Liberty games. 

That’s about all in terms of large sports complexes.  Aside from exercising, there will be no practice 

time at MSG. We are all looking forward to this historic game and representing CUNY.”  

The game is part of the Maggie Dixon Classic and is a doubleheader with St. John's and UConn. Floor seats start at $20 and can be purchased by logging on to www.queensknights.com/msg.