WNBA greats Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Cappie Pondexter and Alana Beard headline the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, announced Friday.
Also scheduled to take office on June 14 are Mark Campbell, longtime coach at Union University, and Lucille Kyvallos, who led West Chester College and Queens College to early success. Danielle Donehew, executive director of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, concluded the class.
“We are honored to pay tribute to seven outstanding legends of this special sport,” said WBHOF President Dana Hart. “They have represented women’s basketball at the highest level and have made significant contributions to the sport along with shaping the game’s historical trajectory.”
Bird has won at every level, including five Olympic gold medals, four WNBA championships with Seattle and two NCAA titles while at UConn.
The 12-time All-Star, who also won four world championships with the United States, retired in 2022. It was the same season that Fowles ended his playing career.
Fowles won WNBA titles with Minnesota in 2015 and 2017 and was Finals MVP both times. She also was on four of the Olympic champion teams along with Bird. The former LSU star was a member of the WNBA All-Defensive Team eight times.
Beard was named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year on two occasions. She won a WNBA title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016.
Pondexter won two WNBA championships with the Phoenix in 2007 and 2009 and was the Finals MVP for the first time. She earned Big East Player of the Year honors while starring at Rutgers and led the Scarlet Knights to a 97-22 record and back-to-back conference titles in 2005 and 2006. She won the 2008 Olympic gold medal with Bird and Fowles.
Kyvallos coached at West Chester from 1962-66 and Queens College from 1968-80 and 1981-82. She won 311-73, or 80.91%. She was coaching Queens when the team participated in the first women’s college basketball game played at Madison Square Garden in front of more than 12,000 fans.
Campbell has coached for 26 seasons at Division II Union University and is 742-116 at the NAIA school. His teams won NAIA championships in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010.
Donehew has served as executive director of the WBCA since 2014 and has helped grow the organization over the past decade. Previously, he worked at his alma mater, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Atlanta Dream, Big East and American Athletic Conference.
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