Nancy Lieberman
Member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
At the age of 18, she became the youngest basketball player in Olympic history to win a medal as the US team captured a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics. A three-time All-America at Old Dominion University, Lieberman-Cline had a stellar career in leading the Lady Monarchs to back-to-back AIAW National Championships in 1979 and 1980. She was twice named as the Wade Trophy winner, symbolic of the women's National Player of the Year, and is the only two-time winner in history. For her outstanding play during those two seasons, Lieberman was twice named as the Broderick Cup winner as the nation's top female athlete. In her career at ODU, Lieberman-Cline scored 2,430 points, grabbed 1,167 rebounds, and dished out a record 961 assists, a mark that still stands upon her enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Over those two championship seasons, Lieberman-Cline guided the Lady Monarchs to a 72-2 record. Her prolific scoring abilities and dynamic style on the court made her a number one draft choice of the Dallas Diamonds of the Women's American Basketball Association in 1980. After leading the Diamonds to the league title in 1985, Lieberman-Cline made history once again in 1986 and 1987 as she became the first female to play in a men's professional league, signing with the Springfield Fame of the United States Basketball League. She followed that achievement with another milestone when she joined the 1987-88 Washington Generals on a world tour with the Harlem Globetrotters. In a career filled with firsts, Lieberman-Cline enjoyed yet another first as she became the first female ever inducted in the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Lieberman-Cline returned briefly to professional basketball with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury (1998) for one season. She retired to become head coach and general manager of the league's Detroit Shock.
| EVENT |
PLACE |
POINTS |
MONEY |
EVENT WINS |
| 1980 Women's Final |
2 |
N/A |
$15,000 |
N/A |
| 1982 Women's Final |
2 |
36 |
$25,800 |
Rowing |
| 1984 Women's Final |
1 |
57 |
$15,700 |
Tennis, Bowling, Rowing, Quarter Mile, Obstacle Course |
| TOTALS |
93 |
$56,500 |
6 |