The Mighty Macs 1975 Season

Fifty years ago, on Saturday, March 22, 1975, Immaculata University’s women’s basketball team competed for their fourth national title. Their 1972 Cinderella season culminated in the first women’s collegiate basketball national title, followed by consecutive championships in 1973 and 1974. By 1975, they were no longer Cinderella—they were the Wicked Stepmother that every team wanted to dethrone.

Judy Marra Martelli ’75, who played on the three championship teams, stated, “We went into the season very confident about our chances, but also knowing that the talent on opposing teams was getting better along with the coaches.”

At the conclusion of the 1975 regular season, the Macs held a 23-3 record. When the team arrived at Harrisonburg, Virginia for the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship tournament (the precursor to the NCAA for women’s basketball), Immaculata students displayed “Keep it Alive in ’75” signs.” The Bucket Brigade, comprised of students, IHM Sisters and family members, traveled from Immaculata with the famous medal wash buckets—ready to pound them when the opponent possessed the ball. However, the AIAW deemed the noisemakers too disruptive and banned them.

Even with the buckets silenced, the heavily favored Mighty Macs defeated California State-Fullerton 63 to 54 in the semi-finals. Next, they faced the new Cinderella team, undefeated Delta State, led by their 6-foot-3 center, Lusia Harris, in the championship game. The Mighty Macs kept it close, leading by a narrow 16-15 margin in the first half. In the second half, Immaculata trailed 68-66, the closest they would come to overtaking Delta. Mary Scharff led the Mighty Macs in scoring with 19 points, and co-captain Marianne Crawford added 18. However, it was not enough to secure the team’s fourth consecutive championship as they fell to Delta State 90-81, becoming runners-up for the first time.

After their disappointing loss, Head Coach Cathy Rush acknowledged that Delta State had played a super game. She was quoted in “Today’s Post,” “I’ve got to give our girls credit too. They all played a tremendous game. They didn’t let up for a minute, and there were many times when they could have. But that’s the kind of team this is: they don’t quit.”

Although they lost the championship game, the players made headlines with their historic season.

An “Irregular” Regular Season

The 1975 regular season was anything but regular.  By the last game, the Mighty Macs had amassed a 23-3 record.

One of those wins made history. On January 26, 1975, the team, along with the University of Maryland, became the first women’s college basketball team to compete on national television (a game the Macs won 80-45). At the time, freshman Helen Canuso, noted, “I was a little nervous playing on television, but I put that out of my mind because I was more worried about beating Maryland.” Canuso had nothing to worry about as she led the Mighty Macs with 19 points.

Less than a month later, on February 22, Immaculata made history again by playing Queens College at Madison Square Garden—the first two women’s teams to play at the iconic sports venue. It was another win for Immaculata (65-61)—and for women’s basketball. As legend has it, the majority of the nearly 12,000 spectators who arrived for the doubleheader watched the women play the first game, and approximately 7,000 stayed to watch the men play.

After the game, Rush told the assembled media, “We never anticipated a response like this.” Rush was quoted in “The New York Times” saying, “We proved that people will pay to see women play basketball.”

The Mighty Macs’ Lasting Impact

Despite their championship loss in 1975, the Mighty Macs continued to make a profound impact on women’s basketball. By 1977, Rush and the Immaculata players she coached during her seven-year stint as head coach, held a record of 149-15 (.909 winning percentage), won three national titles, competed in championship games for five consecutive years (placing second in 1975 and 1976), and reached the Final Four in 1977 (earning fourth place). They also were the first women’s college team to play outside of the U.S. when they toured and played in Australia in 1974.

In recognition of their groundbreaking achievements, the Mighty Macs were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.

More than 50 years later, the Mighty Macs’ groundbreaking championship runs of the 1970s continue to influence women’s basketball, paving the way for today’s superstars like WNBA standouts Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson.

Marra Martelli reflected on the 1975 season, saying she cherishes the friendships she made more than anything and noted the many successful and accomplished women she calls friends.

Regarding the second-place 1975 finish, she replied, “No one likes to lose, so it was very disappointing to lose that championship. It stung! But as time passed, we realized what we had accomplished in our four years and what we had started at Immaculata. My teammates and I went to Immaculata to get an education, and to have the opportunity to play basketball was a bonus. And all these years later, there is a feeling of great pride realizing we had made history.”

Special thanks for Isaiah Gillyard ’25 for his contributions to this story.

1975 Official Roster