Tamika is a player for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA and Turkish team Galatasaray. She is a prolific scorer close to and far from the basket, as well as a capable rebounder, ball handler, and defender. After playing at Adlai E. Stevenson High School and graduating from Duncanville High School, Tamika Catchings became one of the stars of the University of Tennessee women's basketball team. 

In 2001, she was drafted by the Indiana Fever. After sitting out the entire year in which she was drafted due to injury, she had an all-star rookie season in 2002. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. Catchings is a 9-time WNBA All-Star, a 5-time All-WNBA selection and is famous for recording the first ever quintuple double (25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals and 10 blocks in 1997). She serves as President of the WNBA Players Association as of the 2012 season.

On August 23, 2014 she set the all time WNBA playoff scoring record off a three-point field goal in Game 3 of the eastern conference semifinals against the Washington Mystics surpassing Lisa Leslie's 908 career playoff points. She finished the game with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 7 steals also surpassing Lisa Leslie for most WNBA career playoff rebounds.

After the 2014 season she ranks 1st all-time in career playoff points, 1st all-time in career playoff rebounds and 3rd in all-time career regular season scoring. She also holds the WNBA record for most consecutive playoff appearances of 10 straight seasons.

In October 2014 in a TV interview, she revealed that she will be retiring after the 2016 Summer Olympics. She said;

""I will be retiring in 2016, Lord willing, if my body holds up," "Although I plan to step away as a player that is not to say I'll step away from the game, hopefully. I am so thankful and blessed to have had an opportunity to play the game I have loved for so long. "God has truly blessed me with an amazing playing career, and now it's time to start transitioning to what He has for me beyond the lines of the basketball floor."

Tamika is the Founder of the Catch the Stars Foundation and is proud to help "prepare youth to catch their dreams one star at a time." The goal of her foundation is to provide youth with organized programs geared towards motivating them to set goals, dream bigger and achieve more. 2

Woodard, the talented Wichita native, started making her mark early on the basketball court. As a ninth grader at Marshall Junior High School, Woodard was asked by the coach at Wichita North High to join the junior varsity team, but she declined. She preferred to wait until the following year to join the varsity team. At five-foot-eleven, Woodard was a standout in women's high school basketball. As a sophomore, she led her team to win the 5A state championship in 1975 and two years later received national recognition as an all-American high school team member.

Woodard took her team-playing philosophy to the University of Kansas in 1977. The Lady Jayhawks won three straight Big Eight Championships during Woodard's career with a 108-32 record (1978-1981). Woodard scored a total of 3,649 points in four years. Many of her records and honors are still unchallenged today.

The Kansan next put her talent to work for the U.S. Olympics. In 1980 Woodard was selected as one of twelve on the Olympic women's basketball team, but due to the U.S.-led boycott, her team did not participate. However, Woodard led a second Olympic women's basketball team to victory and to a gold medal in 1984.

In 1985 Woodard was signed as the first woman on the world famous Harlem Globetrotters. She played as a Globetrotter for two years before competing professionally on Japanese and Italian teams. In 1990 she was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. The Cleveland Rockers signed her in 1997 to play in the new Women's National Basketball Association.

Woodard served as the first athletics director for the Kansas City (Mo.) School District, as vice president of marketing for Magna Securities Corporation in New York City. In 1999 she began work as special assistant for external relations and women's basketball at the KU Athletics department, and head coach beginning in 2004. She was named one of Sports Illustrated's hundred greatest women athletes in 1999. In 2005, Lynette Woodard was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Cooper was raised in the Watts section of Los Angeles. She began playing organized basketball at age 16 and quickly took to the sport. She earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California, where she played in the shadow of Cheryl Miller while helping the team to national championships in 1983 and 1984. After college Cooper played professionally in Europe, primarily for a team in Parma, Italy, where she blossomed into a potent scorer and a tenacious defender. She was a member of the 1988 U.S. national team that won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul.

By the end of the WNBA’s inaugural season, Cooper had established herself as the league’s first great player. Cooper  helped lead the Comets to titles in 1998, 1999, and 2000, each time being recognized as the MVP of the play-offs. She was named the league MVP for the second time in 1998. Cooper retired in 2000 and became the head coach of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury the following year. She returned to playing basketball in 2003 and permanently retired from the game in 2004 with WNBA career per-game averages of 21 points, 4.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.56 steals. Cooper was named the women’s basketball head coach at Prairie View (Texas) A&M University in 2005. She was selected for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Standing six feet tall in seventh grade, Leslie hated it when people would ask her if she played basketball. But after reluctantly picking up the sport in middle school, she was hooked. While at Morningside High School in Los Angeles, she led the team to two state championships. In college at the University of Southern California, she set several Pac-10 conference records for points and rebounds.  In her final year at University of Southern California, Leslie was named the 1994 National Player of the Year. She made her first trip to the Olympics in 1996 held in Atlanta, Georgia. There she helped the U.S. team take home the gold medal in women's basketball. That same year, Leslie also launched a modeling career.

Leslie landed a contract with the WNBA in 1997, becoming one of the new league's first players. She joined the Los Angeles Sparks and had an impressive career with the team. In 2001, she was the first WNBA player to win the regular season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP and the playoff MVP in the same season. Leslie also led the Los Angeles Sparks to two back-to-back WNBA Championships—in 2001 and 2002. In addition to her outstanding performance with the Sparks, Leslie returned to Olympic competition three more times. She helped the U.S. team win gold in 2000 and in 2004.

Leslie picked up two more WBNA MVP honors—in 2004 and 2006. She sat out of the 2007 WNBA season because she was pregnant with her first child, but she wasn't away from the courts for long. Leslie returned to the Sparks in 2008. She also earned her fourth and final gold medal in women's basketball that summer at the Olympics in Beijing, China. In 2009, she announced that she was retiring from professional basketball. Leslie scored more than 6,200 points during her twelve years with the WNBA. She also holds the distinction of being the first woman in the league to make a slam-dunk during an official game.


In 2009, Leslie added becoming an author to her already long list of accomplishments. She released her autobiography, Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You, before playing her final season with the Sparks. Since her retirement, Leslie has worked as a sports commentator and analyst for such channels as ABC, NBC and Fox Sports Net among others.

Leslie returned to her beloved Sparks team in 2011, but this time as an investor, not a player. She is now one of the team's owners, and has also decided to share her knowledge and skills with others through the Lisa Leslie Basketball & Leadership Academy.

Lisa Leslie is married to Michael Lockwood. The couple has two children, son Michael Joseph and daughter Lauren Jolie.

Sarah Campbell is a native of Kansas City where she pioneered the sport of Women’s Basketball. As a freshman in high school she led her team to the State Championship Class 3A. She went on to receive national awards gaining All American status as she scored 54 points in a single game setting both the boys and girls scoring record. Upon arriving to the University of Missouri-Columbia where she was a 4 year starter her success continued. While at MU she represented the United States with the Sports Festival Team. She went on to also represent the United States as a member of the ABA-Jones Cup International Team, where she averaged 10 points and 10 assists per game playing the point guard position. After winning the gold medal, Sarah was then invited to try out for the United States Olympic Women’s Basketball Team.

After college Sarah played a season with the Swedish Federation where she was a standout leading her team averaging over 30 points per game. Upon returning to the United States Sarah continued her professional career with the Missouri Mustangs. As she led her team to victories gaining scoring titles along the way with a 54 point game then later a 62 point game to set scoring records. That year she gained her first MVP title. Sarah went on to receive two additional MVP awards with the KC Mustangs.

Sarah retired from Women’s Professional Basketball and embarked into the Coaching scene. She has coached in the high school ranks as well as the collegiate ranks. Sarah is currently coaching in the professional ranks with the Kansas Nuggets in the WBCBL League.

Nancy, "Lady Magic," Lieberman is a true pioneer in women's sports. Her extensive resume includes: WNBA player, coach, general manager, sports broadcaster for ABC, NBC, ESPN, and FOX Sports Southwest (FSSW), motivational speaker, author and the first female coach of a men's team under the NBA umbrella. Lieberman was also the first woman to play in a men's professional league. Currently, she serves as the assistant general manager for the Texas Legends, NBA Development League team and official minor league affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. In the 2012-13 season, she joined Fox Sports Southwest as an Analyst on the Oklahoma City Thunder Pre & Post-Game shows, Thunder LIVE!

Nancy Lieberman is a Basketball Hall of Famer, two-time Olympian, three-time All American, two-time collegiate national champion and a two-time National Player of the Year at Old Dominion University.

Rising through the rank of professional sports, Lieberman made significant contributions to basketball. Her distinguished career is one of monumental strength and motivation. In pursuit of becoming the greatest women's basketball player, she refused to accept anything less than the best. Her devotion to the sport and passion for the advancement of women athletes are a source of inspiration.

For more information about Nancy Lieberman and her many accomplishments please visit her website at www.nancylieberman.com

Throughout time there have been several individuals who have effected history with their profound writings, speeches, talents and abilities. We go on daily not even thinking about the sacrifices these individuals made to make the life we live better. Paying homage to these people isn’t something we think about doing on a daily basis, but should be.

In honor of the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League’s 10th Year Anniversary and Women’s History Month, we will be honoring 10 Women “Trailblazers” who have paved the way for women’s basketball. These ladies have been through many trials and have prevailed to greatness in a male dominated sport. These 10 women give hope to young girls who inspire to be professional players, coaches, and team owners.

This years “Trailblazers” include: Nancy Lieberman, Cynthia Cooper Dyke, Dr. Geri Kay Hart, Lynette Woodard, Lisa Leslie, Sarah Campbell, Dr. Robelyn Garcia, Kandi “KC” Conda, E.C. Hill and Tamika Catchings. We will be highlighting each individual honoree throughout the week on the WBCBL website and social media sites. We will also honor the women at the WBCBL National Tournament in Greenville, SC (July 31st – August 2nd)

 The Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League would like to thank these women for their determination to change the game of women’s basketball. We salute you and congratulate you on being a part of history!

Dayon Hall-Jones, of the Kansas Nuggets, is now one of the newest members of the Harlem Ambassadors. The Harlem Ambassadors Show Basketball team travels worldwide to perform and compete against local in the community. 

Hall-Jones was a standout scholar-athlete at the University of Missouri Kansas City. She finished her college career earning 1st Team All-Summit League and Summit League All-Tournament Team and averaging nearly 20ppg. Dayon continued her basketball career by joining the Kansas Nuggets in 2012, leading them to win the Midwest Regional Championship and a strong contender in the National Tournament. She continues to be a leader for the Kansas Nuggets as she pursues her dreams.

The WBCBL would like to congratulate Miss Hall-Jones and wish her much success!