Billie Moore

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"Billie Jean Moore" redirects here. For the country music singer, see Billie Jo Spears.

Billie Moore
Moore in 1993
Biographical details
Born(1943-05-05)May 5, 1943
Humansville, Missouri, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 2022(2022-12-14) (aged 79)
Fullerton, California, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1969–1977Cal State Fullerton
1977–1993UCLA
Head coaching record
Overall436–196
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1999
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Medal record
Women's Basketball
Assistant coach for  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place
1975 Mexico City
 Team Competition
Assistant coach for  United States
World University Games
Silver medal – second place
1973 Moscow
 Team Competition
Head coach for  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1976 Montreal Team Competition

Billie Jean Moore (May 5, 1943 – December 14, 2022) was an American

Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW) national title in her first year in 1970. She led the UCLA Bruins from 1977 to 1993 and won the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national title in 1978.[2] Her overall college coaching record was 436–196.[3][4] Moore was the head coach of the first United States women's national basketball team to compete in the Olympics. In 1999 she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
.

Early life

Moore was born in

Topeka, where Moore attended Highland Park High, which did not offer sports for girls.[2] However, she played fastpitch softball as a third baseman for an industrial team sponsored by Ohse Meats Company.[5][6][7] She also played for their Amateur Athletic Union basketball team.[5][6]

Coaching career

Moore started her coaching experience as an assistant at

CIAW national championship.[1][9] She spent eight seasons at Fullerton, leading the Titans to a 140–15 record and finishing four seasons ranked in the top five.[10]

While the

World Championships, the Olympics focuses attention like no other event.[11] Team member Juliene Simpson explained, "Up until then, many people didn't know we had national teams playing in international competition. After the Olympics, that changed quite a bit."[12] In 1976, the Olympics added women's basketball. Moore, who had been the assistant coach of the U.S. Pan American team which won the gold medal in Mexico in 1975,[13] was selected to be the first Olympic head coach of the U.S. women's team. She coached the team to a silver medal in the Montreal Olympics,[2] leading a group of college players against a Soviet Union squad with players in their mid-20s and 30s.[14]

After her Olympic coaching experience, Moore was hired at the

Pacific-10 Conference during that span. She resigned after a 13–14 finish in the 1992–93 season, amid criticism in recent years of her coaching methods, as well as an ongoing review of her program after a player alleged mental and verbal abuse by Moore. "I don’t know if you can push them as hard as you could 10 years ago," Moore said. "There’s just a different level of sensitivity."[10]

Moore ended her 24-year coaching career with a 436–196 record and a .690

Final Four in 1970, 1972, 1975, 1978, and 1979.[16] Moore was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999 and in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in the same year.[17][18] She received the Naismith's Women's Outstanding Contribution Award in 2002.[9]

National team career

Moore was named the assistant coach of the United States at the World University Games held in

Universiade, was the eighth event to have women's basketball, but the first in which the Americans participated. The team was assigned to the same preliminary round group as the Soviet team, and drew them as their first opponent. The game was not close, as the USSR defeated Team USA 92–43. The Americans went on to defeat France and Mexico. Their 2–1 record qualified them for the medal round, but the rules of the competition carried the preliminary round results into the medal round, so they could not afford another loss. They won their next three games, all by single digit margins, against Bulgaria, Romania and Cuba. That performance qualified the US team for the gold medal game, but it matched them up against undefeated USSR. While the game was closer, the Soviets were much too strong and won 82–44 to claim the gold. The United States earned a silver medal in their first ever World University Games competition.[19]

Moore was named to the coaching staff on Team USA as an assistant coach in 1975. Because the World Championships and the

Cali, Colombia, at the end of September through early October. The US team had a disappointing result finishing 4–3 and missing the medal rounds. In the opening game, the Americans lost by two points to Japan. They bounced back to beat Australia, but then faced Czechoslovakia and lost by a single point. This relegated the team to the consolation rounds, where the team won three of four, losing only to Canada, and finishing in eighth place.[20]

The Americans had had success in the Pan American games with gold medals in 1955,1959, and 1963, but had come in second place in both 1967 and 1971. In 1975, the team was determined to win the gold, and Moore was named assistant coach. One of the leading players on the Pan American team was Lusia Harris, whose Delta State team had beaten Immaculata in the 1975 Championship game, and would do so again in 1976. There were other notable players on the team, such as Pat Head (Summitt), Ann Meyers and others, as well as a 17-year-old high school player, Nancy Lieberman.[21]

The games were originally planned for Chile, then Brazil when Chile withdrew the offer to host, and then Mexico City, where they were eventually held in October. The United States' first opponent was Mexico, a team that finished ahead of Team USA at the World Championships, and would end up winning the silver medal in this competition. The Americans won 99–65, setting a tone for the event. They next beat Canada 75–56. They followed that game with a convincing 116–28 victory over El Salvador. Their following game against Cuba was the only close game, with the United States winning by six points 70–64. The US team then defeated the Dominican Republic 99–50, and Colombia 74–48. This set up the final with Brazil. The team from Brazil had beaten the United States in the prior three Pan American competitions, and had won the gold medal in two of them. This time, the US team won easily 74–55, earning the gold medal for the first time in twelve years.[21]

Personal life and death

Moore died on December 14, 2022, at home in

hospice care with multiple myeloma.[22][23]

Publications

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Goldstein, Richard (December 15, 2022). "Billie Moore, Coach of Champions in Women's Basketball, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Skaine 2001, p. 134
  3. ^ "Women's Basketball Coaches Career". NCAA. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Skaine 2001, p. 135
  5. ^
    ISBN 0313309124
    .
  6. ^ a b Porter 2005, p. 336
  7. ^ "The Top 100: No. 85, Billie Jean Moore". Topeka Capital-Journal. July 23, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  8. ^ "BRAKETTES ALL-TIME ROSTER". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  9. ^ a b c d Porter 2005, p. 337
  10. ^ a b c d Witherspoon, Wendy (April 15, 1993). "UCLA's Moore Resigns Amid Latest Criticism". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  11. ^ Grundy 2005, p. 167
  12. ^ Grundy 2005, p. 169
  13. ^ "SEVENTH PAN AMERICAN GAMES – 1975". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
  14. ^ a b Bolch, Ben (December 15, 2022). "Billie Moore, Olympic and UCLA basketball coach who won championships, dies at 79". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 16, 2022. Moore died Wednesday night from multiple myeloma. She was 79.
  15. ^ "No. 1 For The Wizardess Of Westwood". Sports Illustrated. April 1978. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  16. ^ "Hall of Famers". Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  17. ^ "Hall of Famers". Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  18. ^ "WBHOF Inductees". WBHOF. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  19. ^ "EIGHTH WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES – 1973". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  20. ^ "SEVENTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN – 1975". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  21. ^ a b "Seventh Pan American Games – 1975". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  22. ^ Voepel, M. A. (December 15, 2022). "Former UCLA, Olympic women's basketball coach Billie Moore dies". ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  23. ^ "Billie Moore, Legendary UCLA Women's Basketball Coach, Dies at 79". UCLA Athletics. December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.

General and cited references

External links
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