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LESLIE NORRIS MCFARLAND: Good afternoon, my name is Leslie Norris McFarland and I was a member of the first women's basketball team that started in 1974.

♪ ♪ Well, it was right before Title IX was, was implemented so there was very little support for women's athletics, so we were able to, the university had to implement a women's program because of Title IX, so we were very lucky that Title IX happened at that time.

Well, when I first got to Howard because of who Howard is, I assumed there was a women's program, I came from Baltimore, grew up, um, knowing about Morgan who had a program for many, many years before we did, so I made an assumption that there would be a team here.

So when I got here and asked, "When are tryouts" and was told there was no program, I did want to transfer and my mom was like, "No, you're gonna stay where you are," um, "you're on scholarship."

So I stayed here and then thank goodness Title IX came about and we were able to start a program during my sophomore year.

Um, there was a Miss Doris Corbett who started out as our coach back then.

We had tryouts, um, we had a nice turnout, we were able to pull a team together.

Um, we were a club at first because there was no NCAA for women or anything like that.

And um, we played local schools around the metropolitan area and um, we were just excited I think we had um, four or six games in the first season, but we were happy to have those so it was, we, we were excited.

SANYA TYLER: Basketball started here at Howard as an intercollegiate um, they didn't, they had a schedule but it was not, um, defined by the NCA, because the NCA did not have participation for women's basketball.

It wasn't until uh, 1982 that they hosted the NCAA for women in basketball.

♪ ♪ My name is Sanya Tyler and um, my affiliation with Howard University's women's basketball is that I coached uh here at Howard for 19 seasons and uh, stepped into the fundraising uh, for the 50th anniversary.

I became the uh, head women's basketball coach, it was in 1982, and um, Howard University was a program that I actually witnessed their basketball play for two years prior to that because I was a Division I basketball official.

I was always stumped by the fact that Howard had some talent but everybody seemed to um, play at a different pace, uh, and they never played collectively as a team, so they had some wins but they could have had some better wins and they had some losses that they didn't need to have and that was just my perspective as a, an official during their games.

In my first season, in 1982, um, you have other people's talent.

Um, so you either can get a lot out of them or you just try to salvage the, the bottom rows, the freshman, sophomores because you know, you'll get more out of those young people.

That was the first year for the NCAA, that included historically black schools uh, we were NAIA prior to that um, we had won our regular season tournament uh, in our conference and then we went to the tournament.

And uh, the young ladies were very excited about playing, but we knew they could win.

So we had to find something to tell them that they would believe.

So I told them that the winner was going to um, Nebraska.

They said, "Nebraska?

Why is the winner of the tournament going to Nebraska?"

I said, "Well the NCAA seats you."

We knew the winner of the tournament was going to uh, Long Beach, California.

But you cannot tell everybody they going to California, when they've never really left the East Coast.

Um, because they start playing for themselves and they start doing uncharacteristic things.

Um, but nonetheless, we won the tournament and we went to the locker room after the game, we were very excited about winning and that's when my assistant coach, Linda Spencer said, "Well you know we're going to California?"

Oh, you saw a whole different makeup of Howard's team.

That let me know that they could easily be motivated to a level that they could play at.

Coaching here at Howard was very rewarding for me, um, I was a very determined coach.

Um, currently in 2024, I'm the winningest coach in the history of Howard University, in any sport.

Uh, that did not come easily, it required a lot of work, a lot of support from my staff, but what it really took was a commitment from the young people that we recruited.

We recruited the same talent that Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, in fact, we recruited people who, didn't think we could recruit those people.

Um, there was no player that we didn't go after.

We didn't get all the, you know, "upper crust."

But there were a great many athletes that could easily be the upper crust, and we started to get the best in the city, um, we went to New York and got a, a center, Darlene Beale Norris and Darlene ended up being one of the greatest centers and having her number retired.

Uh, Claudia Eaton, 6'4" kid from California who we had here at Howard, and Claudia ended up being an outstanding player.

But then we had numbers of outstanding players, I can't name them all but, Karen Wilkins, Yolanda Lockamy, um, Vanessa Graham-Jenkins, there's just a lot of players, Robin Duncan Chishom, these, these young people individually were great, what we had to do was make them great with each other.

YOLANDA LOCKAMY: Hello, I am Yolanda "Yogi" Lockamy, number 13, 1985-1989.

I have the all-time assists record, think it's still for over 30 years now, so um, I'm happy about that.

Um, and it's, it's good to know that I was able to contribute to the game, um, my team, and to us winning a couple of championships along the way.

Well, legacy was created by Coach Sanya Tyler, um, the pursuit for excellence and the desire to win and to pull the best out of her players.

Um, so she created that foundation and so when you come here you want to win and you want to be the best person that you can be and so those things help you not just in basketball, but in life.

I am from Zebulon, North Carolina.

I came from a predominantly White school, so I didn't get a lot of African American history.

Okay, we had "Slave Day" in school, right, um, where you mimic a slave and a master, but to understand that, that was not who I am.

When I came here and stepped foot on campus and understood you know what, there's apartheid going on, there's so many things that I didn't even know about, and then I started to say, "You know what?

There's something in me that's greater than anything that I've ever heard about before."

When I got here the rich history in terms of everyone that's attended here from Thurgood to the Phylicia Rashad to Donny Hathaway, so you're coming into something special.

And so you want to be a part of something special and leave one little mark, whatever that is.

And so, I had no idea what I was getting into, uh, but once I got here and I understood uh, the richness of it, it's just you want to be the best that you can be.

And whatever that means, you go for it.

And for me, it was on the basketball court, because that was home for me.

Um, that is where I grew up, that's what I knew best, and, and I tried to translate that.

That was my language.

And parlay that into uh, leaving just a little bit of Yolanda Lockamy here somewhere and I hope that I did that.

LESLIE: Just to, to be on the first team here at Howard and to see the progress that's been made, um, my daughter calls me "Sports" because you know I love basketball, I watch it all the time.

Um, but here at Howard just to, to see the young ladies how they, how the program has, has grown, it means the world to me to have on the first team.

I'm glad my mother made me stay here.

And um, it's just been a joy to see the young ladies that have come through the program since we got started.

♪ ♪ (sneakers squeaking).

(chatter).

PLAYER: Shoot it, shoot it, shoot it.

PLAYER: I got ball, I got ball.

(sneakers squeaking).

(chatter).

(chatter).

TY GRACE: Okay, sub in, sub in.

Sub in, sub in.

SAADIA DOYLE: Our program has been a very dominant program since its inception, as apparent by the banners hanging in the gym, the number of championships, the number of women that went on to play professionally after they've left Howard.

I think it is a program that's really big on family reaching back to pull forward.

Probably some of the best years of my life have been spent playing basketball here at Howard.

There aren't as many opportunities for women as there are men, which is why the women in the league have degrees, because it's a necessity, we have to have other options to generate revenue and to create a career for ourselves, which isn't necessarily the case on the men's side.

I worked very hard to be the all-time leading scorer in MEAC history, and for this university.

However, when one of my male counterparts is starting to ascend, my name never gets mentioned.

Although they get the title of Howard's all-time leading scorer.

If I was a male, it would never be a issue.

So little subtleties like that is disrespectful, however, we carry it well so you'll always see me and my teammates in the stands rooting these individuals on, hoping that they do surpass me and earn the title of all-time leading scorer.

So, that is something that's happened to me and that happens all the time.

And the fact is, we contribute it's just, It's minimized simply because of our gender.

♪ ♪ MARGAREE KING RICHARD: I'm Coach Red King Richard, I'm the Howard Women's Basketball Director of Basketball Operations.

Well, since day one when I got here, it was just... you know it's a standard, again a standard of excellence.

And it starts with the, with the, from the top down, right?

So, Coach Ty, um she has been like a big sister to me, um, even before I, I was on her staff, um I could pick up a phone and call her anytime, text her anytime, knowing she was gonna pick up.

And she's constantly, um, mentoring myself, mentoring Coach J, she's extremely all about women's empowerment, Black women's empowerment, and uh, that trickles down to the players.

So, as far as the camaraderie within that locker room, it is like no other.

Um, and I think there are times where, you know, the kids are young and they don't quite grasp the, the true meaning of the sisterhood within that locker room until after graduation when they're in the real world, and it, it just hit a little different.

But um, I think that that bond is, is strong, and it's, it's, it's definitely a blessing.

Um, and for me I'm just happy to be a part of it.

Happy to mentor the team, uh the players, and yeah.

Great group of young ladies that come through that locker room.

DESTINY HOWELL: Oh, when I was a freshman like, you know, we were a team just trying to, just trying to win games, stay above 500, and we realized that we're actually better than you know, holding, holding ourselves to that standard.

We made ourselves a little championship run and sadly we lost in a buzzer-beater my freshman year.

And we realized like, "Oh, we really are a championship team".

We're not a team that can settle for just trying to be good in the conference, just trying to be you know, maybe top four, or top three.

And I feel like that started the, the championship culture that we have here.

TYANA WALKER: Coming in this year, the start was a little rocky for me, but after a while, once Destiny went down, I knew I had to step up and play a bigger role, and since transferring what I took from last year, I try to put it all into this year and just get better each game.

ANNOUNCER: Tanya Walker!

DESTINY: Oh, when I first came here, that's one of things that I felt immediately was the culture, I feel like that's something that you can't necessarily get at any other university, and that's something that Howard prides itself on.

And you know, as a women's basketball player you feel that ten times more.

I feel like sports, since I've been here, has had a way bigger, way bigger type of support system than it has in the past.

I know that, you know, we've, we've worked a lot for us to get the program where it is now, and I feel like we're all starting to feel that and benefit from that in many different ways here at Howard.

♪ ♪ TY GRACE: First and foremost, I told, I tell them about being their true, authentic selves.

Like, I want them to be themselves, I don't try to force them to, or put them in holes, to try to do anything different or be anything different.

I want them to be themselves and then I want them to excel and go beyond that when they can.

Um, you know, the mindset is just to have a winning mindset, you know, to have the mindset that they can achieve anything, um, that they are going to continue to push forward, even through adversity.

So that's kind of you know, what I talk to them about, but hopefully um, you know, they listen.

(laughs) And they start achieving beyond just playing.

I want them to have a, a very big thought about their life that's beyond sport, um so hopefully they're, they're getting that.

(clapping).

(sneakers squeaking).

(chatter).

Triple threat, Nyla, triple threat, triple threat Julia.

Triple threat, triple threat.

(whistle).

(chatter).

TY: I think holding yourself accountable is something that you have to do, no matter you're playing sports, no matter you're in a corporate office, you'll hear my players and staff talk about that, whatever you're doing.

If you're, you know, in charge of a group, I think accountability keeps everybody aligned, um, it checks everybody, even myself.

I want people to keep me accountable as well.

Um, so if you don't have accountability it's very hard to have a um, a strong program.

It's gotta be 20, not five, 20!

Hold yourself accountable!

It's very hard to win.

Um, and I think my players know that the accountability comes from love too.

It's like come to the next drill and try to work on it.

Every time y'all catch the ball, it's like that y'all never go by nobody.

It's like, it's a pound dribble for what, where is the dribble going?

Make the dribble go somewhere for you.

Stop dribbling the same place.

Coach is working on footwork, a different move, and you keep doing the same things over and over again.

You gotta switch it up.

Inside-out shooting.

TEAM: Inside out.

TY: You gotta switch it up, man.

MARGAREE: Uh, well there's definitely been a shift, and I, I think there's definitely been a positive shift.

Um, I think there is now value seen in women's sports in general, and there's a greater investment in women's sports, and in particularly, women's basketball.

You can, uh, look at the ratings.

Uh, South Carolina games are getting higher ratings than NBA games.

And you know, the likes of Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, and um, next year we'll be talking about Destiny Howell, um, and her, her greatness.

And I think it's just, it was just a matter of time uh, of the world catching up to what we already knew.

SAADIA: So, in everything that we do, we strive to be the very best that we can be.

It's not necessarily me trying to prove that I'm better than my teammate or a fellow athlete, as much as it is trying to harness and maximize as much of my personal potential as I possibly can.

Whether it's in the classroom, on the court, or now in my professional field as a social worker.

I think that, had I gone to another university it may not have been instilled in me as much, which was part of the reason why I came to Howard, to see a bunch of people that look like me, and that were successful.

So that it made it more attainable.

Like, yes, I too can be a part of Black excellence.

People can look at me and say, "Wow".

TY: I mean, Howard's always been a global brand.

I've been hearing about Howard since I was young, and um, I don't, I think before Jordan, before those things, people know who Howard is.

People know the rich tradition of Howard.

People know the alumni, you know, that have came through here.

So, um obviously people see the, the wins and the championship we won in '22, that was obviously a big um, part of the success here, and going to the NCAA tournament for the first time.

Um, in a long, it was 23 years, 22 years, something like that.

Um, but I see success as these young women graduating, um, they're not the same person they were.

They come in as young ladies, they leave as women, um, and so that's success for me.

That's, that's a win for me.

When they come back in to the alumni games and we can talk about things that happened in those, in their four years, um, that's success for me.

♪ ♪ SYLVIA GROOMES: Hi, Sylvia Groomes.

Like to wish the Lady Bison congratulations for 50 years of progress and success.

I believe that uh, a firm foundation was put out there at one point in 1974 to build on.

And as the first coach, I'm glad to say that I see the results of all of the effort of the young ladies who started that program in 1974, along with me and our assistant coach, Jackie Cody.

I only wish you much, much more success, and I will end the same way I started by congratulating you, Lady Bison.

TY: I mean, I pretty much every coach that's came, that's coached the program here, Coach Groomes, um obviously Coach Tyler and I have a really good relationship, she's been a mentor to me since I took the job here, and obviously you know her history and you know, the things she's done here.

Um, Coach Parsons, um Niki Reid, just all those coaches.

I'm actually, you I, I talk to those coaches, and um, I'm just thankful that I'm able to be a part of such a legacy, that I'm able to... hopefully, there is somebody after me that's gonna, you know, continue it and um, I'm just thankful that I got to be in the presence of them.

And some of the players too, Saadia Doyle, Karen Wilkins, um just phenomenal people.

SANYA: I feel wonderful.

It's nice to be around for 50 years of history.

But what's nicer is being with these young ladies.

BEN VINSON: I love it, man.

You know, I'm a historian so this is magic for me.

Absolutely amazing, and an incredible game in which to have this.

Loving it.

H-U!

SANYA: I, I think each coach has a way of getting it done.

I had a desire as a, as a college referee, that, just some little things we could do, we could beat these guys.

But you gotta teach people to give up some of what they want.

What are you willing to do to make that happen?

(cheering).

YOLANDA: Women's basketball has changed a lot.

Because when we won the MEAC, that was it.

You didn't get a chance to go on to any tournament, or anything like that.

So that was our pinnacle, right?

And so, obviously, we put everything we had into it, um, and then you waited for the next season to do it all over again.

Now, the game has evolved so much.

LESLIE: Just to see how they've renovated Burr, the practice gyms downstairs.

Um, the students are, are traveling.

You know, they were in the Bahamas this year.

Done.

Um, when we played the University of Maryland College Park, we thought we were like, on a trip.

So I think slowly but surely they're doing things that we, we didn't dream of.

SAADIA: There's a lot more inclusion when people are talking about sports.

The most apparent shift is visibility.

So when they think of a female, it's just a athlete.

This is what's going on in athletics in general, and I think that is great.

Something as simple as there's one three-point line, versus a line for the women and a line for the men.

Um, you see a lot more female commentators, and they're not just speaking on women's sports.

You see females that are a part of coaching staff, and not just on the women's side, you see more female referees and umpires at a higher level.

We're able to actually compete at a higher level, and not be handicapped by the misconception that we can't do something simply because we are not men.

TY: I, I like where women's basketball is today.

I'm very proud of, you know, how we're representing and um, the young women that are playing.

And, just how everybody has bought in and tied in to women's basketball, people are enjoy watching them play more than other sports, so, um, that's always good.

But I think it's been a trend, it's been kind of trendy, um, but the people that are in it know what it brings to the table, and we know what it's about, so I'm hoping that it continues to go up, and people continue to you know, stay passionate about women's basketball.

MARGAREE: The legacy of how women's basketball is, is simply excellence.

♪ ♪ [music plays through credits].