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| Born | New York City, New York November 18, 1954 (age 69) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Gail Annette Marquis (born November 18, 1954, in New York City, New York) is an American former basketball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics. [1]
Marquis played women's collegiate basketball at Queens College, City University of New York, where she was a two-time All-American. [2] On February 22, 1975, she played for Queens College in the first women's basketball game held at Madison Square Garden. The Queens College team was coached by Lucille Kyvallos. Among Marquis's teammates was Donna Orender, who later served as president of the Women's National Basketball Association. Queens College lost the game to Immaculata College, coached by Cathy Rush. [3]
Marquis was named to the USA Basketball National Team to represent the US at the 1976 Olympics, the first year that women's basketball would be played at the Olympics. The USA team ended with a record of 3–2, losing to the eventual gold medal champion USSR in the semifinal game, and winning the final game against Czechoslovakia to take home the silver medal. [4]
Marquis remained on the National team in the subsequent year as the team competed in the 1977 World University Games. After winning the opening game against Germany, Marquis had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the USA team defeat Mexico. Marquis scored 16 points in a close game against Romania, which USA team won 76–73. The USSR team was too strong for the USA team, winning twice against the USA team, including the gold medal game. The USA team captured the silver medal. Marquis was the third leading scorer on the team, averaging 12.0 points per game and the second leading rebounder, with 7.0 per game. [5]
Marquis played for the French Federation of Basketball and in the U.S. for the New York Stars and later the New Jersey Gems of the Women’s Basketball League (W.B.L). She was on the Stars when they won a championship in 1980. [6]
In 2009, Marquis became first woman of color inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. [6]
Following her basketball career, Gail Marquis went on to become a Wall Street executive. Though she didn't have a business degree, she became certified as a stock broker by passing the high-level Series 7 Registered Representative exam. [7] During her time on Wall Street, she worked for some of Wall Street’s largest investment firms. [7] This included Dean Witter Reynolds, PaineWebber, UBS, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase. [6]
Marquis is known as an advocate for women who gives back to the community. She has worked with the organizations Dress for Success and PowerPlay NYC, and served as a representative at the United Nations 57th Commission on the Status of Women in 2013. [7]
Her life story is chronicled in a 2016 University of Phoenix commercial. [8]
Marquis grew up in Queens, New York. One of her first jobs was as a vendor at Shea Stadium. [2] In 2011, Marquis married Audrey Smaltz. [9]
Lisa Deshaun Leslie is an American former professional basketball player. She is currently the head coach for Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on Bally Sports Florida. In 2002, Leslie made history as the first player to dunk during a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game. Leslie was ranked 5th on ESPN.com's 2021 list of the WNBA's greatest players of all time.
Lynette Woodard is a retired American basketball Hall of Fame player and former head women's basketball coach at Winthrop University. Woodard made history by becoming the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters and who, at age 38, began playing as one of the oldest members in the newly formed American women's professional basketball league, the WNBA.
Sandra Kay Yow was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 career wins. She also coached the U.S. women's basketball team to an Olympic gold medal in 1988 despite having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987. In 2000, Yow was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2009, she was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. She was drafted by Phoenix first overall in the 2004 WNBA draft. Taurasi has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2004), three WNBA championships, a historic five Olympic gold medals, one WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2009), two WNBA Finals MVP Awards, five scoring titles, and three FIBA World Cups. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams and fourteen All-WNBA teams. In 2011, she was voted by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and was named by the league to its 20th and 25th anniversary teams, respectively the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021. Also in 2021, she was selected by fans as the league's greatest player of all time. On June 18, 2017, Taurasi became the WNBA all-time leading scorer and on June 27, 2021, became the first player to surpass 9,000 points. On August 3, 2023, Taurasi became the first player to score 10,000 career points. Her penchant for scoring in crucial situations has earned her the nickname "White Mamba", coined by Kobe Bryant. Taurasi is one of 11 women to win an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup, and a WNBA Championship.
Tamika Devonne Catchings is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Catchings has won a WNBA championship (2012), WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2011), WNBA Finals MVP Award (2012), five WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards, four Olympic gold medals, and the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2002). She is one of only 11 women to receive an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup gold and a WNBA Championship. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams, 12 All-WNBA teams, 12 All-Defensive teams and led the league in steals eight times. In 2011, Catchings was voted in by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and would be named to two more all-time WNBA teams, the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021.
Candace Nicole Parker nicknamed "Ace", is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and as of 2023 has spent one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.
Tina Marie Thompson is an American former WNBA professional basketball player and coach. Most recently, she served as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team from 2018 to 2022. Thompson was inducted into both the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Cheryl D. Miller is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster for ABC Sports, TBS Sports, and ESPN. She was also head coach and general manager of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.
Anne Theresa Donovan was an American women's basketball player and coach. From 2013 to 2015, she was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun.
Denise Curry is an American former basketball player and college and professional basketball coach. Curry was inducted in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Jennifer "Grandmama" Gillom is an American former Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2002, before finishing her playing career with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2003. Gillom is also a former Sparks head coach, also coached the Minnesota Lynx, and was, until 2015, an assistant coach of the Connecticut Sun.
Janice Faye Lawrence Braxton is an American professional women's basketball player. She was born in Lucedale, Mississippi. Braxton was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Victoria Andrea Bullett is an American former professional basketball player and current women's basketball head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She played for the Charlotte Sting and Washington Mystics in the WNBA, as well as for European and South American professional teams, the U.S. Olympic team, and the University of Maryland Terrapins. Bullett played at various times as a center, small forward, and power forward. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
Brittney Yevette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. She was additionally named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
Cindy Jo Noble is an American basketball player who competed for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics. In the 1984 Summer Olympics the U.S. women's basketball team won a gold medal. Noble was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Bridgette C. Gordon is the head women's basketball coach of Florida A&M University, and a retired player. She was a member of the United States women's national basketball team, that claimed the gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
Tina Alexandria Charles is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Originally from Jamaica, Queens, New York City, Charles was drafted first overall in the 2010 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun. In 2009 and 2010, she and teammate Maya Moore led the Connecticut Huskies to two undefeated national championships. She has won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA.
Breanna Mackenzie Stewart is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Women's Basketball Super League, Euroleague Women.
Patricia "Trish" Roberts is an American basketball coach and former player. She was most recently the head coach of the women's basketball team at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia.
Lucille Kyvallos is a former women's collegiate basketball coach. Kyvallos coached the Queens College women's basketball team from 1968 through 1981. She is a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. She served as chair for the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW)'s basketball committee and tournament director for the AIAW national championship in 1973. She coached the first women's college basketball game to be played at Madison Square Garden on February 22, 1975. Kyvallos, an advocate for women's sports, wrote: "Women who achieve in sport add a new dimension to the role of women in American society."
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