This spring we will finally see a women’s tourney MOP who is not named Breanna Stewart for the 1st time since 2012. Lew Alcindor is the only player who was ever a 3-time tourney MOP on the men’s side but this year marks the 40th anniversary of another 3-time tourney MOP: Lusia Harris-Stewart and her incredible career at Delta State. For 3 straight years from 1975-1977, she was a 3-time 1st-team All-American, won 3 straight AIAW titles, and was AIAW tourney MVP for 3 straight years. After graduating with a college record of 109-6 she became the 1st and only woman ever officially drafted by the NBA when New Orleans selected her with the 137th pick in 1977 (2 spots ahead of some guy named Bruce Jenner!). In 1992 she joined Nera White as the 1st 2 women ever inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and in 1998 she became 1 of the inaugural inductees to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Lusia about winning a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics and leading the nation in scoring. We also want to wish Lusia a belated happy birthday last Friday!
You planned to attend Alcorn State even though they did not have a women’s basketball team: what made you end up choosing Delta State? They recruited me as they were about to re-start their program.
You played for Hall of Fame coach Margaret Wade: what made her such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from her? She made sure that we played together as a team and was like a mother figure who always gave us good advice.
In the 1975 and 1976 AIAW tourney title games you had double-doubles in wins over Immaculata: how good were those Mighty Mac teams (who won 3 straight titles from 1972-1974), and how were you able to beat them? They were a very good team so we had to play really well to defeat the 3-time-defending champs.
In 1976 you led the nation with 31.2 PPG and set a women’s college basketball record with a 58-PT game against Tennessee Tech: what was your secret for being a great scorer? It was no secret: I just had a lot of natural ability, a good coach, and good teammates.
As a senior you scored 47 PTS in 1 of the 1st women’s basketball games ever played at Madison Square Garden: what was it like to play in 1 of the most famous arenas in America? It was a big honor. At that time we were the only team from Mississippi that had every played in the Garden so we were all thrilled to be there.
You played for team USA at the 1976 Olympics: what did it mean to you to win a silver medal? It was the 1st time that women’s basketball was ever a part of the Olympics so it was an honor to play on such a distinguished team. We played our hardest but faced a Soviet Union team that was much more experienced and had been together a lot longer than we had.
You were a 3-time All-American, a 3-time tourney MVP, and in 1977 you won the inaugural Honda Sports Award for basketball: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? All of those are distinguished honors. I also won the Broderick Cup, which set me apart from all the rest.
You went 109–6 during your college career, which included a 51-game winning streak: did the fans just expect you to win every time you stepped onto the court? The team itself expected to win. We had a great group that always gave a team effort: everyone loves a winner!
In the summer of 1977 you were picked in the 7th round by the New Orleans Jazz: what did it mean to become the 1st and only woman ever officially drafted by the NBA? I just thought that I could not compete with the men at the NBA level. I played center in college at 6’3″ so it would not have been a fair contest. Getting drafted was a great honor.
In 1992 you became the 1st African-American woman ever inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? I think that is the highest of the highlights. To be recognized as a woman among men was quite an honor.