Lynette Woodard facts for kids
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Woodard at the Ms. Magazine Woman of the Year Awards, 1986
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | August 12, 1959 Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
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| High school | Wichita North (Wichita, Kansas) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 160 lb (73 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Kansas (1977–1981) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1997 / Allocated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Cleveland Rockers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1981–1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Cleveland Rockers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Detroit Shock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Winthrop (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Winthrop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Lynette Woodard (born August 12, 1959) is a famous American basketball player. She also coached women's basketball at Winthrop University.
Woodard played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. She made history as the first female player for the famous Harlem Globetrotters. Later, at 38 years old, she joined the new professional women's basketball league, the WNBA. She is recognized for her amazing career in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Contents
Her Amazing Basketball Journey
High School and College Star
Lynette Woodard led Wichita North High School to win state basketball championships in 1975 and 1977. In just 62 high school games, she scored 1,678 points and grabbed 1,030 rebounds.
She then played college basketball at the University of Kansas (KU) from 1978 to 1981. She was named an All-American four times during her time at KU. Woodard scored a total of 3,649 points, averaging 26 points per game. She was the first woman at KU to have her jersey retired, which is a huge honor. For a long time, she was the top scorer in major college women's basketball history.
Playing Around the World
In 1981, Lynette played for an Italian team called UFO Schio (Vicenza). She also played in Japan from 1990 to 1993.
In 1985, she made history again by becoming the first woman to play with the Harlem Globetrotters. It's a fun fact that her cousin, Hubert "Geese" Ausbie, also played for the Globetrotters!
Olympic Gold and WNBA Career
In 1984, Woodard was part of the United States women's basketball team. They won the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
In 1997, she joined the Cleveland Rockers in the new Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The next year, the Detroit Shock picked her in a special draft. Her last WNBA game was on August 19, 1998. After retiring from playing in 1999, she became an assistant coach for the women's basketball team at KU.
Hall of Fame and Awards
Lynette Woodard has received many honors for her basketball achievements. In 1989, she was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame. She also joined the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
In September 2004, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In June 2005, she was also inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 2015, she received the WBCBL Professional Basketball "Trailblazer" Award. This award honors people who helped create and shape women's professional basketball.
In 2017, she became the head coach of the Winthrop Eagles women's basketball team.
Career Statistics
WNBA
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career high | ° | League leader | ||||
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Cleveland | 28 | 27 | 25.4 | 40.1 | 0.0 | 67.2 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 7.8 |
| 1998 | Detroit | 27 | 8 | 14.2 | 38.7 | 0.0 | 57.5 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 3.5 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 55 | 35 | 19.9 | 39.7 | 0.0 | 63.5 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 5.7 |
College
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-78 | Kansas | 33 | 833 | 49.7% | - | 66.4% | 14.8 | 2.1 | 25.2 | ||
| 1978-79 | Kansas | 38 | 1177 | 56.2% | - | 65.6% | 14.3 | 2.6 | 5.1 | 1.5 | 31.0 |
| 1979-80 | Kansas | 37 | 881 | 50.4% | - | 71.4% | 10.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 23.8 |
| 1980-81 | Kansas | 31 | 758 | 52.8% | - | 68.8% | 10.0 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 24.5 |
| Career | 139 | 3649 | 52.5% | - | 68.1% | 12.5 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 26.3 |
USA Basketball Team Games
Winning Gold and Silver Medals
Woodard played for the US team at the 1979 World University Games in Mexico City. The team won all seven games and took home the gold medal!
She was chosen for the 1980 Olympic team, but the US team did not go. This was because of the 1980 Olympic boycott.
Woodard was also on the US team for the 1983 Pan American Games in Venezuela. They won all five games and earned another gold medal.
She played for the USA National team in the 1983 World Championships in Brazil. The team won six games but lost two close games to the Soviet Union. The US team earned the silver medal in this tournament.
In 1990, Woodard was part of the USA National team at the World Championships in Malaysia. The team played very well, even coming back from behind in some games. They won the gold medal in the final match.
Other International Competitions
In 1984, the USA team, including Woodard, went to the William Jones Cup in Taiwan. This was practice for the Olympics. The team easily won all eight games.
Woodard also played with the USA team at the 1991 Pan American Games. The team finished with a record of 4 wins and 2 losses. They managed to win the bronze medal in this competition.
Awards and Honors
- 1981: Winner of the Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) for basketball
- 1981: Wade Trophy
- 2015: WBCBL Professional Basketball Trailblazer Award
- 2020: Brookwood Alpacas Elementary Award Kansas Stats
See also
