connecting the voices of women in sports
Join us in documenting the stories of women who played and coached in WNY!
herstoryWNY
Our Mission
Herstory WNY aims to preserve and amplify the rich history of girls and women’s sports in Western New York through an oral history archive. This project will capture interviews with athletes, coaches, and administrators, sharing the experiences of the women who impacted the regional sports landscape.
Herstory WNY will provide cultural context by filling a critical gap in the history of women’s sports, ensuring that these voices are not lost but celebrated for their role in shaping access and opportunity in sports while inspiring future generations of athletes.
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Supported and hosted by St. Bonaventure University Archives
Tara VanDerveer
Tara VanDerveer graduated from Buffalo Seminary in 1971. After coaching stops at Idaho and Ohio State (where she coached Buffalo native Yvette Angel), Tara took over the women’s basketball program at Stanford, building a powerhouse over 38 years with three NCAA championships. She retired in 2024 with 1,216 career wins. She is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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Cindy Bullis
Cindy Bullis graduated from Lewiston-Porter High School in 1976 going on to earn her degree in physical education from Central Connecticut State in 1981. In 1985 she returned to Lew-Port coaching both girls' and boys' volleyball, girls' and boys' swimming, and girls' track and field. She held several leadership positions in Section VI and became the first full-time female athletic director in the Niagara Frontier League serving North Tonawanda. She was inducted into the Section VI Hall Of Fame in 2022.
Donna Ledwin
Donna Ledwin graduated from Nardin Academy in 1977, earning a tennis scholarship to Fordham University. She began working in college athletics in 1985 as the manager of athletic facilities and events at Yale. She then served as Director of Athletics at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland and as Commissioner of the New Jersey Athletic Conference before joining the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference as its commissioner in 2002 until her retirement in June 2025.
Kathleen Sweet
Kathleen led the Clarence girls’ basketball team to four straight Section VI titles and was named tMVP at the 1982 New York State Basketball Tournament. She went on to play at Boston College, graduating in 1987 with 1,006 career points with 597 career rebounds. A graduate of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, she was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2004 and is a member of the 2025 class of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
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Dorothy "DJ" Jones
Dorothy “DJ” Jones was a 1,000-point scorer at McKinley High School, earning All-New York State honors as a senior in 1984. She went on to play at Louisville, finishing her collegiate career with 804 points and 399 assists in 114 games. She kept her ties to the game by becoming a basketball official, working both high school and NCAA games. She also spent 25 years with the New York State Police. DJ was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
Loretta Young DiCarlo
A true pioneer for girls track at Lockport High School, Loretta Young DiCarlo was one of three girls who competed on the boys team for several years before the creation of a girls team was She qualified for the first New York State Girls Track Championship and went on to compete in back-to-back state championships in 1976 and 1977. Elected to the Niagara County Community College Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Lockport High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, Loretta has coached track, volleyball and cheerleading at Lockport.
Kay Gould
Kay Gould went to Panama Central School, where her only “sport” opportunities were Play Days. She graduated from SUNY Brockport in 1967 with a degree in health and physical education, returning to teach and coach in Chautauqua County. Kay started the girls' basketball at Southwestern Central, wining four straight Section VI titles from 1975-79. In her six years at Southwestern, her teams went 94-10, including a 41-game winning streak. Kay was also involved with the Empire State Games, coaching the the high school division twice and the open division once. She went on to coach basketball and softball at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where her teams combined for seven NCAA tournament appearances. She later served as athletic director for Jamestown Public Schools — one of the first female athletic directors in Section VI. Kay is a member of the Brockport Hall of Fame, the Allegheny College Athletics Hall of Fame and the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame.
Martha Altmire
Martha Altmire coached girls’ basketball for 35 years at Olean High School, compiling 484 career wins, 19 CCIAC league titles and 7 Section VI titles. She guided the 1981-82 squad to a school record 24-game winning streak and the Far West Regional Championship. From 1999 to 2005 her teams won 63 consecutive league games along with nine IAABO Tournament titles. Martha also coached cheerleading and track at Olean and served on the Section VI Basketball Committee. She is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, the Section VI Hall of Fame, the Butler County (Pa.) Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Olean High School Athletic Wall of Fame. In 2006, Olean named their basketball court "Coach Altmire Court "while the Olean Times Herald named their "Big 30 Offensive Player of the Year Award" after her in 2002.
Sally Kus
Sally Kus graduated from Sweet Home School where she played field hockey, basketball and softball. She returned to her alma mater, serving as the girls volleyball coach from 1974 to 1996. Sally and her Sweet Home teams set the National High School Federation Record for consecutive wins with 292. During her tenure, she compiled a 794-29 record with six straight New York state titles (1990 to 1995) along with 21 straight ECIC League Championship Titles, 20 straight Section VI Championships and 15 consecutive Far West Regional Championships. She went to coach Daemen College, then an NAIA school, for four seasons before coaching three seasons at the University at Buffalo. She is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and numerous others.
Erin Miller Maciejewski
Erin Miller Maciejewski was a standout in throwing events for Lockport High School track and field. She was an All-American in the shot put after placing fourth at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships. In 2009, she placed second in the shot put and third in the discus at the New York State High School Federation Championships. She went on to a successful athletic career at the University at Buffalo, graduating in 2013. Erin is a member of the Lockport High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Texlin Quinney
Texlin Quinney played at the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart from 1988-1992, leading the team to the New York State Federation Championship her senior season. Texlin went on to play Division I basketball at Seton Hall helping the Pirates to their first two NCAA tournament appearances including a run to the Sweet 16 in 1994. She played one season (2000) for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever before an injury ended her professional basketball career. Texlin has her bachelor’s and MBA from Seton Hall along with a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center and a doctorate in philosophy from Clarke Atlanta University.
Yvette Angel
Yvette (also spelled Yevette) Angel played for Sister Maria Pares at Sacred Heart Academy, averaging 23.9 points and earning Parade Magazine Second Team All-American in 1981. She played at Ohio State University for Tara VanDerveer, graduating in 1985 as the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer, leading the program to four straight Big 10 titles, a Final Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament, and All-American honors. She is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, the Sacred Heart Hall of Fame and the Ohio State Hall of Fame.
MJ Telford
MJ Telford played basketball at St. Bonaventure from 1971 to 1975. She became head coach in 1976 and in 1986 became the first full-time coach in any sport other than men’s basketball at the university. She coached through 1993 finishing with 201 career wins.
Donna Ditota
Donna Ditota, who grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., played basketball at St. Bonaventure University from 1979 to 1983. She was a four-year starter and two-time team MVP. At the time of her graduation in 1983, she held the team record for rebounds and blocks. Donna began her career as a sports reporter for the Syracuse Post Standard in 1986, spending the majority of her career covering Syracuse University men's basketball. She was the first woman to be named the New York Sportswriter of the Year in 2023, and was elected to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2024, along with numerous honors from her alma mater and the Jandoli School of Communications.
Kristen Gregoire
Kristen Gregoire graduated from West Seneca West High School. She received her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Villa Maria College and her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Daemen College. Currently, she lives in West Seneca with her husband, Marty, and works as a teacher’s aide in the West Seneca School District. She has been skating with the organization SABAH for the majority of her life and now serves as an instructor with the program. Kristen found that ice skating not only positively impacted the physical challenges she has with cerebral palsy, but created a community for her as well.
Stacey Schroeder-Watt
playing volleyball and basketball while smashing records in track and field. She won her first New York State title in the shot put in 1991 and went on to win both shot put and discus in 1992, with her discus mark of 172 feet still standing as the state record. At the University of Florida, she was named a two-time NCAA All-American in discus. Stacey went on to earn her doctorate from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Currently she is the chief of service in the department of anesthesiology at Kaledia Health and is the immediate past president of the Erie County Medical Society. She has been inducted into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, the Section VI Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
Dr. Gail Maloney
Dr. Gail Maloney coached women’s basketball at Buffalo State from 1978-2000. In 31 total years at Buffalo State she also served as Assistant Athletics Director, Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Women‘s Administrator. Gail earned her Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education-History of Education from the University at Buffalo in 1995 with a dissertation titled: The Impact of Title IX on Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics.
Cecelie Owens
Cecelie Owens played basketball and volleyball at South Park High School in Buffalo, graduating in 1980. She went on to play basketball at Buffalo State where she set 19 program record. In 1998, she became the first female African-American inducted into Buffalo State College Athletic Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
Following her playing days, Owens worked in education in the Buffalo Public School district as a teacher, program coordinator and assistant principal. In 2007 she founded the non-profit G.I.R.L.S. Sports Foundation, Inc., providing opportunities and mentorship for young women in Buffalo.
Gina Castelli
Gina Castelli was standout athlete at Archbishop Carroll High School, receiving All-Catholic honors in basketball three times and volleyball twice. She went on to Canisius College, where she played for the legendary Sister Maria Pares. Her freshman season, the Griffs went to the Elite 8 of the 1983 NCAA Division II championship and earned Honorable Mention Freshman All-American honors. Castelli went on to coach women’s basketball at Siena College in Albany, N.Y. for 22 years where she was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year five times. Castelli then coached for eight seasons at LeMoyne College in Syracuse. She is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and the Canisius College Hall of Fame.
Kara Haun Rehbaum
Kara Haun Rehbaum played basketball at Canisius College from 1980 to 1984, graduating as the program’s all-time leader scorer at the time. In 1984, she played professionally for the Atlanta Comets in the Women’s American Basketball Association. She returned to Canisius as an assistant coach in 1986 and was named head coach in 1993. Kara joined the Hilbert College athletic department staff in 2004 and today she is the assistant athletics director and sports information director for Hilbert. Kara was inducted into the Canisius College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
Vicki Mitchell
Vicki Mitchell is the director and head coach of the men's and women's cross country and track and field programs at the University of Buffalo. She is a graduate of Amherst Central High School and had a distinguished running career at SUNY Cortland, graduating in 1991. A member of five US national teams, Vicki competed in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10,000. She made her marathon debut at the 1999 Hong Kong marathon, where she qualified for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Noelani Cornfield
Noelani Cornfield is a Seneca Nation, Cattaraugus Territory, Gowanda native. She was a second-team All-Western New York selection in 2019 playing for Lake Shore High School. She started her college career at Northwest Florida, then played at Southern Miss before playing the 2024-25 season with the University at Buffalo. She was named to the WNIT all-tournament team helping the Bulls win the WNIT postseason title, setting records for Big 4 women’s basketball success.
Ann Ridler Strong
Ann Ridler Strong was a member of the girls’ swim team and cheerleading squads at Lockport Senior High School, graduating in 1975. She went to Niagara County Community College and then to SUNY Cortland, where she majored in physical education and swam on Cortland's women's swimming team. In 1983 she earned her master's degree in physical education from the University at Buffalo. In 1980, Ann was hired full time in the Lockport School District and spent the majority of her career at the high school. She coached girls varsity soccer from 1979 to 1988 and worked numerous sporting events including serving as the football scoreboard operator for 30 years along with clock and scoreboard duties with girls soccer, lacrosse, volleyball, track and field and swimming.
Julie Fiegl Kwoka
- Julie Fiegl Kwoka’s scholastic softball career began as a seventh grader the first year Lockport High School offered a junior varsity team. She played on the varsity for the next five years and served as co-captain as a junior and senior. She went on to play college softball at SUNY Geneseo for two years, where she earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1988 later earning a master's at Buffalo State. She taught for 33 years in the Lockport City School District, 32 of those as a fifth grade teacher, retiring in 2021 she coached Lockport softball for 27 years, retiring in 2015.
Share Your Stories
special Thanks to the following:
Jandoli School of Communication
St. Bonaventure University Archives
St. Bonaventure University Archives
The Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University is the research home of Herstory WNY.
St. Bonaventure University Archives
St. Bonaventure University Archives
St. Bonaventure University Archives
The St. Bonaventure University Archives serves as the digital home and research support for Herstory WNY.
Western New York's Public Libraries
St. Bonaventure University Archives
Western New York's Public Libraries
Thanks in particular to the Julia Boyer Reinstein Library and Lockport Public Library for hosting interview recordings.
in the community
Herstory WNY will be out and about in the region, uplifting women and girls in sports while sharing our mission to preserve the stories that connect female athletes across generations.
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