Lynette Woodard

Who is Lynette Woodard?

Lynette Woodard is a retired American basketball player who made history by becoming the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters and who tasted success abroad before finally reaching, at age 38, her dream of playing in the American women's professional basketball league.

While at Wichita North High School, Woodard won two state basketball titles.

Woodard went on to play college basketball with the University of Kansas in 1978, playing there until 1981. She was a four-time All-American at KU, and she averaged 26 points per game and scored 3,649 points in total during her four years there, and was the first KU woman to be honored by having her jersey retired. She is major college basketball's career women's scoring leader.

In 1981, she was signed by an Italian team, UFO Schio, to participate in their league.

In 1984, she was a member of the United States' women's basketball team that won the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

In 1985, Woodard made headlines when she became the first woman ever to play with the Globetrotters. Incidentally, Woodard's cousin, Hubert "Geese" Ausbie, also played for the Globetrotters from 1961 to 1985.