Connecticut
Women's Basketball
 Hall Of Fame

CENTER COURT
Newsletter of the
Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
DATE:  3/1/02

Ann Fariss, President/Executive Director        Louise Albrecht, Treasurer/Membership Chairperson
Linda Wooster, Secretary                                   Lee Franzman, Nominating Chairperson
Brenda Reilly, Founder                                        Laura Raftery, Board Member
Cindy Adamski, Board Member                        Tony Candido, Fund Raising Chairperson
Lynn Spagnesi, Computer Consultant              Jean Hunt, Historian/Archivist
Pat Mascia, Publicity/Promotion                       Marge Dolan, Board Member
Pat Nicol, Editor, Center Court

DRIBBLE …. The Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame will be celebrating its 15^th year of existence and the third of the new millennium on April 11, 2002 at 500 Blake Street Café in New Haven.  The festivities "tap off" at  6:00 p.m. with a cash bar, followed by dinner and our awards presentation.  The significance of the celebration becomes increasingly heightened each year, as the evening becomes a tangible demonstration of the fantastic growth and continued development of the sport we love so dearly.  It will be an evening to recognize those individuals who have laid the foundation and paved the way for the opportunities that now exist for so many women.  The evening will also serve to honor and induct seven outstanding new individuals who have assisted tremendously in bringing acclaim, honor and distinction to the sport of women's basketball in our state.  As always, we welcome your input and support throughout the year, and especially your attendance at our banquet to acknowledge those special people who have contributed so much.  We hope to see you on the 11^th. 

2002 Inductees….   

Ms. Eleanor Turner - High School Coach
Ms. Kelly Hart - High School Player
Ms. Liz McGovern - High School  Player
Ms. Patti Ferraro - College Player (Small)
Ms. Tricia Sacca-Fabbri - College Player (Large)
Ms. Ann Lander -  Referee
Mr. Bohdon Kolinsky - Honorary   

For information and reservations concerning this year's celebration, please contact Ann Fariss at 76 W. Hillside Ave., Stratford, CT 06615 (Tel:  203-378-6581).

In Memory….  For the second year, The Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame proudly announces the recipient of the Brenda Reilly Memorial High School Award .  This award is given annually to the outstanding high school girls' basketball team in the State of Connecticut.  A selection committee comprised of members of the Executive Board of the Hall of Fame will select the high school using specific criteria.  The coach of the selected team, as well as a team representative, will be the guests of the Hall of Fame during the annual banquet.  This award is in honor of Dr. Brenda Reilly, Associate Athletic Director of Central Connecticut State University, who recently passed away.  Doctor Reilly was one of the founders of the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.     

In Addition :  The Brenda Reilly Youth Camp Scholarship will be awarded to a young girl to attend a summer basketball camp in Connecticut.  The camp selected will rotate throughout the State of Connecticut and the recipient and her parents or guardian will be the guest of the CWBBHF banquet.  The basketball camp of Coach Trish Sacca-Fabbri of Quinnipiac University has been selected for the 2002 scholarship recipient.

Our Thanks…. In 1993, the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honored Catherine "Kay" Teresa Flanagan from Connecticut, for her service to our Country in the United States Navy and the Korean War, by registering her in the Women's Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in our nation's capital. This is the only major national memorial honoring all servicewomen-past, present and future. The primary mission of the Foundation is to register the almost two million women who have served or are serving in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Some 350,000 women, almost 15% of those eligible, have been registered by family or friends. This memorial officially opened to the public on December 20, 1997.

Catherine Flanagan, a 1990 Honorary Inductee into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame was a leader in Connecticut.  On the elementary, junio high, and high school levels, Flanagan taught Physical Education in Farmington and Woodbury, Connecticut for twenty years before retiring in 1977, coaching soccer, field hockey, basketball, softball and gymnastic teams. At the University of Bridgeport's Arnold College, where she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in 1949, she held the positions of Instructor of Health & Physical Education and Assistant Dean of Women. She also received her Masters Degree from Trinity College, Hartford, CT….A member of the Governor's Council of Physical Fitness, Flanagan served on committees for the Connecticut High School Coaches Association and for the Division of Girl and Women's Sports.

Update on the CWBHOF website…….Through the outstanding efforts of Lynn Spagnesi, our new website provides the "history" of the organization, pictures and biographies of all Hall of Fame Inductees, the CWBHF constitution, a page on the banquet's ceremony, the committee members, newsletters and much, much more. This informative site is a great resource for those wishing to learn about the history and development of Women's Basketball in the state of Connecticut. We welcome your visit to http://www.ctwomensbasketballhalloffame.com!¥¥

Contribution to the Cause…. The CWBHOF Committee is determined to provide maximum service to/for Connecticut Women's Basketball.  To give you the best we have to give and to stay abreast with the increasing demands of operating our initiatives, we would welcome any financial contributions to defray our operating costs.  If interested, please contact Louise Albrecht at 203-256-0930.  Thank you.

FLASHBACK: A story of an official's journey to the pinstripes, and ending with "THE CALL"

     My career as a basketball official began during my high school years at Amity High School. I was selected for the team as a sophomore and proceeded to spend much time watching the game an dlearning the rules from the end of the bench as a "utility player." My personal best and career high was a basket scored against North Haven high School in a game played in the gym, which doubled as a cafeteria.

     I enrolled in a basketball officiating class as a senior at Southern Connecticut State College. We were taught the rules by Eleanor Sanderson and officiating techniques by Dora Metrelis. I passed the written rules test with flying colors but was unsuccessful in the practical exam, which was administered at North Haven High School. I seem to recall the instructors and players doubling over with laughter at my call and "techniques". I was obviously a slow learner. I persevered, and with LOTS of guidance, eventually received a local rating. I enrolled in another officiating class during Graduate School at Penn State. Pennsylvania people must play a different type of basketball, because within the year I had earned a National Rating.

     I returned to Connecticut, was hired at Amity Regional High School, and began teaching with Pat Mascia. Pat officiated basketball in addition to coaching the sport. She encouraged me to become part of the Southwest Board of Women's Officials where I met Helen Spencer, Ann Fariss, Ann DeLuca, Debbie Chin, Joan Joyce and many other future Hall of Famers.

     I believe Pat Mascia was the person in charge of scheduling officials for several high school conferences in the New Haven, Fairfield, and Litchfield County areas. Very shortly, I became in integral part of Pat's scheduling master plan. My striped shirt, blue kilt, blue knee socks and Acme thunder whistle with rubber mouthguard were always hanging in the shower rack in the bathroom in our office.  I don't remember ever getting a regular season schedule. It seemed like I was always "on call". Pat was forever sending me to such places as Nonnewaug, Shepaug, Terryville, Brookfield, and Danbury. I remember doing games at some of the prep schools…..Hamden Hall, Gunnery, Choate…..freshman, junior varsity, varsity games – all in one afternoon as the only official!

     Career highlights included officiating games at Sleeping Giant Junior High were Lisa and Laura DeGennaro honed their athletic skills. Coach Erika Beerbaum and Kathy Inglese were making their marks at Sheehan High Schol. Games between Cheshire and Lyman Hall when Cindy Hitchcock and Nick Economopoulos were head coaches resulted in the only two technical foul calls of my entire career.

     But the most memorable, embarrassing and last game of my officiating career occurred at North Haven High School. Lauren Anderson was the North Haven coach. Arlene Quinlan was my officiating partner. The game was close and everyone was tense. Officiating techniques has just changed. Previously, officials had signaled fouling player's numbers with two hands. The new technique was to use only one hand. Keep in mind, I was a slow learner.

     I called a foul on number 11. Immediately the middle fingers on both hands went up as I headed across the gym toward the scoreer's table. I was mortified and couldn't get the fingers down. Everyone was doubled over laughing. Somehow we regained our composure and control of the game. Needless to say, it appeared a god time to retire!

Submitted by:-
Linda Wooster
Associate Director of Athletics
Quinnipiac University