 Harris as a senior atDelta State | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1955-02-10)February 10, 1955 Minter City, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | January 18, 2022(2022-01-18) (aged 66) Mound Bayou, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Amanda Elzy (near Greenwood, Mississippi) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Delta State (1973–1977) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1977: 7th round, 137th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | New Orleans Jazz | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1979–1980 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1980 | Houston Angels | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Lusia Mae Harris (February 10, 1955 – January 18, 2022) was an American professionalbasketball player. Harris is considered to be one of the pioneers ofwomen's basketball. She played forDelta State University and won three consecutiveAssociation for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW)National Championships, the predecessors to theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships, from 1975 to 1977. On the international level, she represented theUnited States' national team. She was on the team which won thegold medal in the1975 Pan American Games. In addition, she was a member of the team which won thesilver medal in the1976 Olympic Games, the first women'sbasketball tournament in the Olympic Games. She played professional basketball with theHouston Angels of theWomen's Professional Basketball League (WBL) and was the first and only woman ever to be officiallydrafted by theNational Basketball Association (NBA). For her achievements, Harris was inducted to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame andWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame.[1]
Lusia Mae Harris was born inMinter City, Mississippi,[2] to Ethel Harris and Willie Harris, a sharecropper in the cotton fields. She was the fourth of five daughters and the tenth of eleven children, all of whom attendedAmanda Elzy High School nearGreenwood, Mississippi.[3] All of her brothers and one of her older sisters, Janie, also played basketball.[3]
Harris played basketball under coach Conway Stewart in high school. She won themost valuable player award three years in a row, served as team captain, and made the state All-Star team .[4] She scored a school record 46 points in one game and led her school to the state tournament inJackson, Mississippi.[5]
After her high school graduation, she had planned to attendAlcorn State University, which did not have a women's basketball team.[6] However, she was recruited by Melvin Hemphill to play forMargaret Wade, who was restarting a collegiate women's team atDelta State University inCleveland, Mississippi.[7] She attended school on a combination of academicscholarships andwork study funds,[6] since this was prior toTitle IX.
In her first year at Delta State, 1973–74, Harris helped theLady Statesmen to a 16–2 record. However, they finished third in the regional tournament and failed to qualify for the national tournament.[8]
In the 1974–75 season, the Lady Statesmen qualified for the national tournament atHarrisonburg, Virginia. They went all the way to the final, where they met the Mighty Macs ofImmaculata University who had won the last three consecutive AIAW championships.[9] In the final, Harris scored 32 points and recorded 16 rebounds to lead Delta State past Immaculata 90–81.[10] The 1975 championship game was televised nationally (albeit delayed). This was the first year that women's basketball games were nationally televised by a major network.[6] That season, Delta State went undefeated with a 28–0 record, the only undefeated college basketball season that year (men or women).[9] Harris scored a total of 138 points and 63 rebounds in four games at the national tournament and was named as the tournament'smost valuable player.[10]
In the 1975–76 season, Delta State and Immaculata met again in the national tournament final. Harris again led Delta State with 30 points and 18 rebounds in a 69–64 victory.[11] That season, she led the nation in scoring with 1,060 points and 31.2 points per game average, including a 58-point game againstTennessee Tech.
In her senior, 1976–77, season, Delta State played a game in theMadison Square Garden in which Harris scored 47 points. This was one of the first women's basketball games ever played there.[4] In 1977, Delta State went to the national tournament final for the third year in a row. In the final, Harris achieved 23 points and 16 rebounds as Delta State defeatedLouisiana State University 68–55 for their third consecutive national title.[12]
Harris was named the national tournament's most valuable player; she was also named to theAll-American first team during Delta State's three winning seasons.[8][13] Her college career record was 109–6, and included victories over laterNCAA Division I powerhouses such as Immaculata University,University of Tennessee,Baylor University,University of Mississippi, Louisiana State University andLouisiana Tech University.[8] Harris finished her college career with 2,981 points and 1,662 rebounds, averaging 25.9 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.[8] She also graduated holding fifteen of eighteen of Delta State's team, single game, and career records. In 1977, she won the inauguralHonda Sports Award for basketball,[14] as well as theBroderick Cup, an award for outstanding female athletes in college.[15][16][17]
During her tenure at Delta State, Harris was the onlyAfrican American player on the team.[18][19]
Source[20]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | FT% | RPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Delta State | NA | |||||
| 1975 | Delta State | NA | |||||
| 1976 | Delta State | 34 | 1060 | 61.9% | NA | 15.1 | 31.2 |
| 1977 | Delta State | NA | |||||
| Career | 115 | 2981 | 63.3% | 66.3% | 14.5 | 25.9 | |
In 1975, Harris was selected to theUnited States national team in theFIBA World Championship for Women inColombia and thePan American Games inMexico City,Mexico. She teamed up with high school starNancy Lieberman and fellow college starsAnn Meyers andPat Head. In the FIBA World Championship, the United States compiled a 4–3 record and finished in eighth place.[21] In the Pan American Games, the United States team went unbeaten in seven games to win thegold medal, their first win since1963. They averaged 86.7 points per game with an average winning margin of 34.4.[22]
The following year, Harris was selected to represent the United States in the1976 Summer Olympics inMontreal, Canada, the first women'sbasketball tournament in the Olympic Games. She used the number seven on her Olympics jersey.[23] She teamed up with most of her teammates in the 1975 Pan American Games, including Lieberman, Meyers and Head. In the opening game againstJapan, Harris scored the first ever points in women's Olympic basketball tournament.[4][24] The United States team won three games and lost two games againstJapan and theSoviet Union. The Soviet Union team went undefeated and won the gold medal, while the United States team won thesilver medal. Harris played in all five games, averaging 15.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.[25]
In the seventh round of the1977 NBA draft, theNew Orleans Jazz selected Harris with the 137th pick overall. She became the second woman ever drafted by an NBA team, afterDenise Long, who was selected by theSan Francisco Warriors in the1969 draft.[26] However, the league voided the Warriors' selection, thus Harris became the first and only woman ever officially drafted.[27] Harris did not express an interest to play in the NBA and declined to try out for the Jazz.[28] It was later revealed that she was pregnant at the time, which made her unable to attend the Jazz's training camp.[29] She was selected ahead of 33 male players, including the Jazz's eighth round selection, Dave Speicher from theUniversity of Toledo.[30]
Harris never played in the NBA or any other men's basketball league but played professional basketball briefly in the 1979–80 season with theHouston Angels of theWomen's Professional Basketball League (WBL).[28] She was initially picked as the number one free agent by the Angels in 1978, the league's inaugural season.[4]
Harris graduated fromDelta State University with a bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation in 1977.[4] After graduation, she worked for Delta State as an admissions counselor and assistant basketball coach.[31] She earned a master's degree in education from Delta State in 1984. After leaving the assistant coaching post at Delta State, she served as the head coach atTexas Southern University inHouston for two years.[3] She then returned to her native Mississippi where she worked as a high school teacher and coach at her alma materAmanda Elzy High School in Greenwood, at theGreenville Public School District, and atRuleville Central High School.[32]
Harris married George E. Stewart on February 4, 1977.[4] They had four children, two sons and twin daughters.[3] She was a member ofDelta Sigma Theta sorority.[33]
Harris died at a therapy facility inMound Bayou, Mississippi, on January 18, 2022, at age 66.[34][35]
For her achievements and contributions to the Delta State University, Harris was inducted to the Delta State's Hall of Fame in 1983.[36] In 1992, she became the first African-American woman inducted in theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[37] In 1999, Harris, along with her college coach,Margaret Wade, and her teammates in thenational team,Nancy Lieberman,Ann Meyers andPat Head, were among the 26 inaugural inductees to theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame.[38] She has also been named to theInternational Women's Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
The Queen of Basketball, a film about Harris, won the 2022Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject); it was produced and directed by Canadian filmmakerBen Proudfoot, withShaquille O'Neal andStephen Curry as executive producers.[35][39] It was released June 10, 2021, seven months before her death.[40]
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