Tomko, Sue

Sue Tomko, who led then-Southern Connecticut State College to three Final Fours in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national tournament, speaks of taking part in the evolution of women’s basketball. She started out playing the game with three forwards and three guards before progressing to two forwards, two guards and two rovers.

“Basketball???” she said, with the question marks referring to the previous rules of the game. “Finally, 1971 was full-court, real basketball.”

And Tomko made the most of her opportunities. Following the 1974 Final Four during her junior season, in which Southern Connecticut finished third by defeating William Penn in the consolation game, Tomko was one of three members of the team to be invited to the United States Olympic Trials in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from which the top players would be chosen for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.

“To be invited to an Olympic Trial implies that people view you as a world-class athlete, which is an extraordinary accomplishment,” Tomko said. “I was excited and enthused to attend. I was not nervous – to be honest, who is nervous at age 20? I just wanted to do my best to make my family and friends proud.”

The Owls, coached by Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Louise O’Neal, finished 3-1 in the 1974 national tournament, with Tomko, one of the team’s co-captains, second with 14 points per game. An undersized forward at 5-foot-7, Tomko grabbed 17 rebounds in one tournament game.

She later played in a professional setting for the Police Department League in Rhode Island – “This was a unique experience because they flew a small Piper Cub plane to Tweed New Haven Airport to pick me up on Saturday evenings en route to games,” she said. She was paid $100 per game.

A 1971 graduate of Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford and a 1975 Southern grad, Tomko also played softball, volleyball and field hockey during her career. She played softball for the famed Raybestos Brakettes from 1970-74 and professionally for the Connecticut Falcons from 1976-77. She went on to coach basketball under O’Neal at Yale University and was later the head coach at North Haven High School, Whittier (Calif.) High School and St. Michael’s High School in Los Angeles, while participating in camps across California, such as those run by the legendary John Wooden.

Tomko, who lives in Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., attributes her success in life, athletically and otherwise, to her family – “They were constant advocates and encouraged me in all of my activities,” she said. “My parents attended every home basketball game I played in and also attended home games when I was coaching.” Tomko will be presented as a member of the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame by her friend of 50 years, Kris Nilsen, whom she met as a freshman at Southern.