Katrina McClain (born September 19, 1965) is a retired American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player. She played for the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
, as well as many USA Basketball teams including three Olympic teams. McClain was inducted into the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...
and the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Early years
McClain grew up in
Charleston, South Carolina, where she attended St. Andrews High School. In her senior year, she helped lead the team to a 30–0 record, including a state championship.
College years
McClain began her career at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
, where she was a two-time
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
n (1986, 1987) and won varsity letters all four years. In her freshman year, she was named to the Freshman All-American team, and was the first ever SEC Freshman of the year. She went on to become the National Player of the Year in 1987. While she was at Georgia, the team won the SEC twice. The team earned invitations to the NCAA Tournament every year in each of her four years, reaching the Sweet Sixteen twice, the Elite Eight once, and finishing as the national runner up in 1985.
McClain is the holder of several single season records that still stand:
* Points (796)
* Points per game (24.9)
* Field goals made (310)
* Free throws made (176)
* Free throws attempted (240)
Over her four-year career, she hit 62% of her field goal attempts, a school record.
In NCAA Tournament games, she holds the record for best field goal shooting percentage, hitting 60 of her 84 attempts in the 12 games she played (1984–1987).
In the 1985 NCAA semi-final game against Western Kentucky, she hit 10 of 12 field goal attempts, a record field goal percentage for NCAA semi-final games.
Georgia compiled a record of 116–15 while McClain was on the team.
She ranks second on Georgia’s all-time career charts with 2,195 points (17.6 ppg) and 1,193 rebounds (9.5). Her jersey number (#32) was retired, making one of only three Lady Bulldogs to receive that honor.
Georgia statistics
Source
USA Basketball
McClain was a member of eleven USA basketball teams. She holds several records in international competitions including the USA Olympic record for rebounds (66) in a single competition and the USA Goodwill Games competition record for rebounds (54).
World University Games 1985
While a sophomore at Georgia, McClain was selected for the
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...
to represent the US at the 1985
World University Games, held in
Kobe, Japan
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
. McClain was the leading scorer in the first three games, including a 38-point output in the first game against the People's Republic of Korea, along with 13 rebounds. She would end up leading the team in scoring, with 17 points per game, rebounding, with almost eight per game and blocks with eleven. The team ended up with a 5–1 record, losing to the USSR in the title match. The USA team was down by 18 points at one time, fought back to close the margin, but ended up losing 87–81, to end up with the silver medal.
Goodwill Games 1986
McClain was selected to represent the US at the inaugural
Goodwill Games, held in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
in July 1986.
North Carolina State
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...
's
Kay Yow
Sandra Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009) was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 c ...
served as head coach. The team opened up with a 72–53 of Yugoslavia, and followed that with a 21-point win over Brazil 91–70. The third game was against Czechoslovakia and would be much closer. McClain was one of the scoring leaders in this game, scoring 12 points to help the US to a 78–70 victory. The USA faced Bulgaria in the semi-final match up, and again won, this time 67–58. This set up the final against the Soviet Union, led by 7-foot-2
Ivilana Semenova, considered the most dominant player in the world. The Soviet team had a 152–2 record in major international competition over the prior three decades, including an 84–82 win over the US in the 1983 World Championships. The Soviets held the early edge, leading 21–19 at one time, before the USA went on a scoring run to take a large lead they would never relinquish. The final score was 83–60 in favor of the US, earning the gold medal for the USA squad. McClain was the second leading scorer in the finals with 17 points, behind only
Cheryl Miller
Cheryl D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster f ...
with 18. For the entire event, McClain averaged eleven points, tied for third leading scorer with
Anne Donovan
Anne Theresa Donovan (November 1, 1961 – June 13, 2018) was an American women's basketball player and coach. From 2013 to 2015, she was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun.
In her playing career, Donovan won a national championship with Ol ...
.
World Championship 1986
McClain continued to represent the US with National team at the 1986 World Championship, held in Moscow, a month after the Goodwill games in Moscow. The USA team was even more dominant this time. The early games were won easily, and the semifinal against Canada, while the closest game for the USA so far, ended up an 82–59 victory. McClain was one of the stars of the tournament, scoring a team high 19 points against Czechoslovakia, and a team high 21 points against Hungary. At the same time, the Soviet team was winning easily as well, and the final game pitted two teams each with 6–0 records. The Soviet team, having lost only once at home, wanted to show that the Goodwill games setback was a fluke. The USA team started by scoring the first eight points, and raced to a 45–23 lead, although the Soviets fought back and reduced the halftime margin to 13. The USA went on a 15–1 run in the second half to out the game away, and ended up winning the gold medal with a score of 108–88. McClain was one of five double-digit scorers in the game.
Pan American Games 1987
McClain was a member of the USA team at the 1987
Pan American Games held in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
USA. The USA team won their first game easily, then had a closer game against Brazil, winning 84–81. The next game was against Cuba, which again was a close match. The USA team was behind at the half, and trailed by seven in the second half, but came back to win 85–80. The title game was a rematch with Brazil. While Brazil's
Hortência Marcari
Hortência Maria de Fátima Marcari (born September 23, 1959) is a former basketball player who is often considered to be one of the greatest female basketball players in Brazil, along with Paula, and regarded by specialists as one of the world's ...
scored 30 points, McClain matched her output with 30 points of her own, helping the USA win gold with a 111–87 victory. McClain was the leading scorer (17.8) and rebounder(10) for the USA team.
Olympics 1988
McClain represented the US at the
1988 Olympics in
Seoul, Korea
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
. The opening match against Czechoslovakia was not easy, with the USA team trailing at the half, but coming back in the second half to win 87–81. McClain scored 19 for the US, second most behind
Teresa Edwards
Teresa Edwards (born July 19, 1964) is an American former women's basketball player and four time Olympic gold medalist.
In 2000, ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine placed her as 22nd of the "100 Greatest Female Athletes of the 20th Century". She ...
. The USA team went on to beat Yugoslavia and China, with McClain having a 27-point and 13 rebound game against China. The next match was against the USSR, a team the USA had beaten in recent competitions, but never in the Olympics, until this year, when the USA won a "surprisingly easy" game 102–88, with McClain scoring 26 points, only one fewer than
Cynthia Cooper's 27. The gold medal game was a rematch against Yugoslavia, which the USA team won 77–70. McClain was the leading scorer and rebounder for the team, with 17.6 and 10.4 respectively.
World Championship 1990
McClain continued her USA representation as a member of the USA National team at the 1990 World Championships, held in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The team won their opening round games fairly easily, with the closest of the first three games a 27-point victory over Czechoslovakia. Then they faced Cuba, a team that had beaten the US in exhibition matches only a few weeks earlier. The USA team was losing at halftime, but came back to win 87–78. The USA team found itself behind at halftime to Canada in their next game, but came back to win easily 95–70. After an easy match against Bulgaria, the USA team faced Czechoslovakia again, end achieved an almost identical result, winning 87–59 with Teresa Edwards scoring 23 points, and McClain scoring 16. In the title match, McClain was the leading scorer with 23 points, and added nine rebounds, to help the USA team win the gold medal. For the entire event, McClain was the second leading scorer behind Teresa Edwards, and the leading rebounder on the team.
Goodwill Games 1990
The 1990 Goodwill game were held in Seattle, Washington less than two weeks following the World Championships. The USA team had now won 36 consecutive games in major international competition, and hoped to continue the trend at the Goodwill Games. The team members and coaches on the USA were unchanged. The USA team struggled in its first two games, starting out behind to South Korea before winning, and falling behind to the Soviet team at halftime, before winning 86–78. McClain was the star of that game scoring 23 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. The team won against Australia and Bulgaria to face the Soviet team for the gold medal. The USA team won the gold medal with an 82–70 win over the Soviet team. McClain again led the team in rebounds at almost eleven per game, and was second in scoring honors, behind Teresa Edwards.
Pan American Games 1991
McClain was a member of the USA team invited to the 1991 Pan American Games held in
Havana, Cuba. The teams started with a strong performance against Canada, winning 87–70. The next game against Brazil started well, with the USA team jumping out to an 18–3 lead, which they extended to 26–8, but Brazil came back to take a halftime lead. The game was tied at 81 with just over two minutes left.
Hortência Marcari
Hortência Maria de Fátima Marcari (born September 23, 1959) is a former basketball player who is often considered to be one of the greatest female basketball players in Brazil, along with Paula, and regarded by specialists as one of the world's ...
scored in the final minute to give Brazil a three-point lead. McClain responded to bring the margin to one, but Brazil made free throws in the final seconds to secure the 87–84 upset. After beating Argentina easily, the USA team faced the host Cuba team, and won 91–71. That moved both teams to a rematch in the semi-finals, but this time Cuba would prevail. The USA team then went on to beat Canada for the bronze medal. McClain was the team's leading rebounder, with 8.8 per game, and the second leading scorer, at 15.3 per game, behind Teresa Edwards.
Olympics 1992
McClain earned a place on the team representing the US at the 1992 Olympics in
Barcelona, Spain. The team started out impressively, scoring 111 points in their opening match against Czechoslovakia, at that time, the most points ever scored by the USA Olympic team. They would best that mark four days later with 114 points against host team Spain. They also had a strong victory over China, winning 93–67, before facing the Unified team. The USA team fell behind by eleven points in the second half, rallied to take a small lead, but could not secure the victory, and ended up with a loss 79–73. The USA team beat Cuba 88–74 to win the bronze medal. McClain again dominated the boards, leading the team with 9.6 rebounds per game. She scored 11.4 points per game, which was fourth best on the team.
World Championship 1994
McClain continued her participation on the USA team at the 1994 World Championships. The preliminary rounds were held in
Hobart, Tasmania
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
while the final rounds were in
Sydney, Australia. McClain was the leading scorer with 20 points in the first round win over South Korea. The USA team won their first six games before playing Brazil in the semi-final match up. McClain had one of the most impressive performances in World Championship history, with 29 points and 19 rebounds. However, Brazil's
Hortência Marcari
Hortência Maria de Fátima Marcari (born September 23, 1959) is a former basketball player who is often considered to be one of the greatest female basketball players in Brazil, along with Paula, and regarded by specialists as one of the world's ...
also had a great game scoring 32 points, and the final score of 110–107 favored the Brazilian team. The USA team regrouped to beat the host Australia team 100–95 to take home the bronze medal. McClain led all scores on the USA team with 14.6 points per game and was the teams's leading rebounder, with 11.1 per game.
Olympics 1996
McClain's final event as a member of the USA team was the 1996 Olympics, held in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
USA. The USA team won all their pool play games by large margins, although they were behind Cuba by as much as seven points before
Lisa Leslie's 24 points, helped the USA take over the game. The USA victory over Australia featured a record setting 15 assists by Teresa Edwards, while McClain was the leading scorer with 24 points. Against Japan, Lisa Leslie set a USA Olympic scoring record with 35 points, and McClain tied a USA scoring record with 16 rebounds. In the final, the USA team faced 7–0 Brazil—a team that had beaten the USA squad in the 1991 Pan Am games and the 1994 World Championships. This time, playing before a home crowd of 32,987, the USA team started out very strong, hitting 71.9 per cent of their field goals leading to an eleven points margin at the half. The USA team scored the first eight points of the second half and won the gold medal 111–87. McClain was the second leading scorer (behind Lisa Leslie) and the team's leading rebounder.
Professional career
McClain played professionally internationally for several years and ended her professional career with the
Atlanta Glory of the
American Basketball League (ABL). She was honored as a member of the 1998 ABL All-Star Game Eastern Conference Team.
* 1989–1991 Kyoto Petroleum (Japan)
* 1992 Sidis Ancona (Italy)
* 1993–1995 Valencia (Spain)
* 1995–1996 Galatasaray (Turkey)
Legacy
The NCAA named the annual Katrina McClain Award in her honor, which recognizes the top power forward in women's NCAA Division I college basketball.
Awards and honors
* 1986—Consensus All-America team
* 1987—Consensus All-America team
* 1987—National Player of the Year
* 1987—Winner of the
Honda Sports Award for basketball
* 1987—
WBCA Player of the Year The Women's Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year award is presented annually to the best women's college basketball players in NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III, Division III as voted by the WBCA membership. From 1983 to 2000, the ...
* 1988—USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year
* 1992—USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year
* 2005—Induction into
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in the United States at .
Exhibitions
The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Induc ...
* 2006—Induction into
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...
* 2012—Induction into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
References
Bibliography
*
External links
WBHOF Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClain, Katrina
1965 births
Living people
African-American basketball players
All-American college women's basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Turkey
American women's basketball players
Atlanta Glory players
Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games
Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 1991 Pan American Games
Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from South Carolina
Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players
Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball players
Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in basketball
Power forwards (basketball)
Sportspeople from Charleston, South Carolina
Universiade gold medalists for the United States
Universiade medalists in basketball
Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade
Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games
Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games
Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American women
United States women's national basketball team players