The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019 will be inducted Saturday in Knoxville, Tennessee. Here are the seven honorees (in alphabetical order):
Beth Bass, contributor
The former CEO of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association helped modernize that organization during her 13 years there. She also helped spearhead the WBCA's support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Bass served as a sounding board for coaches at all levels across the country, seeking to address their concerns in a changing landscape for the sport. One of her most powerful initiatives was to encourage coaches to support one another and avoid negative recruiting.
Carolyn Bush Roddy, veteran player
One of the best players of the 1970s, she was a two-time NJCAA All-American at Hiwassee Junior College in Tennessee. She then transferred to famed Wayland Baptist in Texas and helped the Flying Queens win AAU national championships in 1974 and '75, leading the team in scoring and rebounding both seasons. Bush Roddy was a finalist for the 1976 U.S. Olympic team, and she also played for the Dallas Diamonds of the Women's Professional Basketball League.
Joan Cronan, contributor
In her three decades as women's athletic director at Tennessee, she helped construct not just the Lady Vols' basketball team but all the women's teams at the school into model programs. A close friend of the late Pat Summitt, Cronan understood the business side of sports but was just as adept at the personal side, building relationships. Cronan's success in athletic administration and outreach to other women helped new generations take that career path.
Nora Lynn Finch, contributor
Few people have played as many roles being instrumental to women's basketball's growth as Finch. She's most known as an ACC assistant athletic director, along with being the chair of the inaugural NCAA women's basketball committee from 1981 to 1988 at the start of the era that launched the NCAA's governance of women's sports. But Finch served on many other NCAA committees, including for rules changes. She also is a former assistant coach and did television commentary work.
Ticha Penicheiro, player
Penicheiro played for Old Dominion and helped lead the Lady Monarchs to the 1997 NCAA championship game. She won the Wade Trophy in 1998. She then spent 15 seasons in the WNBA -- the bulk of that was her 12 years in Sacramento, where she won a WNBA championship in 2005. She and the Monarchs also reached the WNBA Finals in 2006. Penicheiro was known for her entertaining flair as a passer, but she was also very accurate. She stands second all time in WNBA career assists behind Sue Bird with 2,599. Penicheiro is now a player agent.
Ruth Riley Hunter, player
Riley Hunter grew up in small-town Indiana and stayed in state to become a star at Notre Dame and help transform that school into the powerhouse it has become. She led the Irish to their first NCAA title in 2001 and was the most outstanding player of the Final Four that year. Riley Hunter then played 13 seasons in the WNBA, averaging 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots. She won WNBA titles in Detroit in 2003, when she was named WNBA Finals MVP, and 2006. She's now an analyst for the NBA's Miami Heat.
Valerie Still, player
One of the SEC's all-time greats, Still is Kentucky's career leader in scoring (2,763) and rebounding (1,525). In 1982, the All-American led the Wildcats to the SEC regular-season and tournament championships. She had a stellar career overseas, playing 12 years in Italy. Then near the end of her playing career, she helped the Columbus Quest of the short-lived ABL win championships in 1997 and 1998, and finished with a stint with the WNBA's Washington Mystics.