courtesy of Kevin Lewis
Plainview Daily Herald
Lometa Odom doesn't get out much these days, spending most of her time riding around on a scooter at an assisted living center in Amarillo, but the 76-year-old former Wayland Baptist Flying Queen basketball player will do everything she can to make it to her induction next summer into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.
"It's a grand honor," she said before quickly adding gratitude for her former teammates. "Every time I (receive) something individual like this I think of my teammates. If it hadn't been for them I couldn't have gotten this honor, so they deserve it with me."
Odom was surprised when she found out she was being honored by the WBHOF.
"I've been in three or four other (halls of fame), but I hadn't given it a thought that this big one would consider me since it was before we got into the NCAA or things like that," said Odom, who was the first woman inducted into the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame and the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame. She also is a member of the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame.
Odom is one of only two players in the illustrious history of the Flying Queens to have been named all-American four consecutive years. Odom was the first, from 1952-56, after playing a key role in Wayland's phenomenally success.
Harley Redin, a member of the WBHOF himself who coached Odom her final season at Wayland, said the recognition is well-deserved.
"She was such a great post player," Redin said. "Her fundamentals were just perfect. She was just exceptional at faking and getting good, accurate shots."
Odom is the sixth player with ties to Wayland to be named to the 121-member WBHOF. Besides Redin, who was part of the inaugural class in 1999, others have been players Patsy Neal (2003) and Jill Rankin Schneider (2008), coach Dean Weese (2000), contributor Claude Hutcherson (2003), and Marsha Sharp (2003), who played junior varsity basketball at Wayland but was recognized as a coach.
Odom's election to the WBHOF was announced Saturday afternoon on ESPN during the WNBA vs. USA Basketball game in Uncasville, Conn.
Others in the 2011 class are players Vicky Bullett of Maryland (1988-89), Ruthie Bolton of Auburn who played on two gold medal-winning Olympic teams (1996 and 2000) and in the WNBA, and Pearl Moore of Francis Marion University in South Carolina (1975-79), the all-time career-scoring leader for women's college basketball with 4,061 points.
Also to be inducted are Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and former WNBA President Val Ackerman.
Odom said she found out about her honor "3-4 weeks ago" from Redin, who is an honorary, non-voting member of the WBHOF board.
"He swore me to secrecy," Odom said. "The only people I could tell were my immediate family."
That includes sisters Margaret Parks of Corpus Christi, who also played at WBU (she was a freshman when Odom was a senior), and Dana Beck of Canyon, who played for the Queen Bees before injuring her knee.
Odom went to high school in Dimmitt where she helped win three straight state championships from 1950-52.
"She was one of the most outstanding high school basketball players ever in Texas," Redin said.
A three-time all-state selection, Odom averaged 41 points per game as a senior at Dimmitt and established the Texas single-game scoring record of 78 points. She also played on teams that defeated the Iowa state champions in 1950 and '51.
During Odom's four years at Wayland, the Flying Queens had a cumulative record of 115-5, including three Amateur Athletic Union national championships and one second-place finish. She also played on the victorious United States team in the Pan American Games in 1955.
Playing under head coaches Sam Allen, Caddo Matthews and Redin, Odom helped the Queens to a pair of 30-win seasons as a freshman and sophomore, followed by two perfect campaigns of 23-0 as a junior and senior, beginning WBU's remarkable 131-game win streak.
Odom scored 1,614 career points, which still rank ninth on the Flying Queens' all-time scoring list.
Teams she played on still hold school records for most wins in a season (37 in 1952-53), most consecutive wins, (131 from 1953-58), best defensive average (29.4 points per game in 1954-55) and fewest losses (0 in 1953-54 and 1954-55.)
Odom also was active in campus activities as a dorm representative, charter member of the "W" Club and a member of Future Teachers of America.
Following her playing career, Odom spent 37 years teaching and coaching. She started out in Gruver, moved to Spearman then spent 16 years in White Deer. She moved back to Plainview and coached and taught here for 15 years, finishing at the seventh-grade level before retiring in 1994.
"I loved to teach the basics in basketball," Odom said. "You can't do anything if you don't have a good basic foundation."
She moved to Canyon in 2003 before recently moving to Amarillo.
Odom, who said she has "lived every one and loved every one" of her 76 years, said she can still walk, although "stairs are a no-no." She hopes someone can accompany her to the WBHOF induction ceremonies next June in Knoxville "to help me with my scooter."
She has every intention of attending.
"The good Lord willing and I can get there."
