The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Richards set for induction into Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame
09.30.2010 | Women's Golf
Sept. 30, 2010
Natalie England, TexasSports.com
Martha Richards is proof that girls can play with boys -- and they can beat them, too.
It all started innocently enough in a gym, where her two older brothers were playing. She was just an interested spectator, but one team didn't have enough players, and the coach asked, "Can we borrow Martha?"
By game's end, Richards was the leading scorer among all fifth grade boys. She was in second grade at the time.
This coed domination continued until Richards was a ninth grader, when she became the first freshman at Hudson High School to be called up to varsity. Some doubted her ability to adapt socially. Her father gave special assurance to the school board that she would be "just fine," and Richards not only started as a freshman, she led the conference in scoring.
It was a fitting start to a storied high school career, which culminated Richards' senior year with Hudson's first ever trip to the state tournament. After setting the school's scoring record -- for both girls and boys -- with 2,038 points, Richards was given the 1988 Wisconsin Miss Basketball award, and was also one of just five named to the USA Today All-USA high school girl's team.
This weekend, Richards returns to her home state, where she will be among the first class of girls players to be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
The scoring record still stands today, and many will remember that Richards scored most of those points when she dribbled left and went up off one foot. Later, as a college player at Stanford, the patented shot even earned Richards a nickname -- "The Runner" -- but more than anything, it was a testament to her basketball beginnings.
Playing with boys who were bigger and taller, creativity was the key to Richards' scoring -- and, really, it always was. She shoveled the snow off her driveway and threw up shots until her hands were too numb, and often found herself in trouble for breaking into the school, looking for a warm gym and a place to play. By high school, the principal just gave her a key to the gym, and Richards reconciled the move by saying, "He knew I was going to find a way in anyway."
After all, persistence has always been the force driving her -- whether playing with the boys, breaking ground as a freshman or helping Stanford to its first women's basketball national championship in 1990.
Following a sports career at Stanford that saw her become a national champion on the court and an All-American on the golf course, Richards played professionally on the LPGA Tour. She is now in her fourth season as the Texas Women's Golf head coach.
"That's what growing up playing basketball teaches you -- if you really want something, it's got to come from the inside. You can't just put words to it," Richards says.
