An Unforgettable Legacy

Before Maryland women’s basketball boasted stars such as Alyssa Thomas, Crystal Langhorne, Kristi Toliver, Marissa Coleman, and many others, a 5-foot-6 humorous guard with wild, free-flowing hair was the face of the program. Her name was Tara Heiss, and she laid the foundation for every female athlete that followed her. 

Heiss played for the Terrapins from 1975-78 and was a trailblazer for women’s basketball. She shocked crowds with her dazzling passes, hasty speed, and ability to score on every level of the hardwood. 

As a multisport star at Walter Johnson High School, Heiss was an athlete that many former teammates say had no holes in her basketball game. They often compare her skills and impact to those of NBA legends Allen Iverson and Bob Cousy. Heiss was the one who put Maryland women’s basketball on the map, and she did so with unprecedented skill and love for the game. 

“I think the thing that made her so great was she had incredible speed and at top speed could maintain control,” Martha Hastings, who shared the backcourt as a teammate with Heiss at Walter Johnson and Maryland, said. “She could finish like Allen Iverson. She could get to the hoop, and then she’d finish. And she could pass all the crazy no-look crowd-pleasing passes. That's one reason crowds loved her. It was the first time, I think, that a lot of people had ever seen a woman who could do all this stuff on a court.”

Heiss was the first woman to score 1,000 career points in Maryland program history, and she set program records with 1,350 points and 504 assists at the end of her career. However, this is just one measure of her success throughout her illustrious basketball career.

Heiss led Maryland to an 89-82 win over NC State in the first ACC championship ever held as a senior in 1978. She recorded 30 points during the contest and was elected as the unanimous tournament MVP. 

Later that same season, Heiss led the Terps to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championship. Maryland upset Wayland Baptist 90-85 in the final four as Heiss scored 21 points. 

During her career, she garnered the attention of many legends in the professional basketball circle. Wilt Chamberlain was in attendance for the Terps' upset win, and he praised her performance, saying, “That little guard for Maryland (Tara Heiss) was up and down the floor all night long. She never stopped.”

“At Maryland, she was an incredible fan-drawing player, and she led us to win an ACC championship, and took us to the Final Four. So she meant a lot at Maryland,” Hastings, who served as an assistant coach on Maryland’s staff that year, said. “She was probably the first recognizable superstar at Maryland, even though there had been some other good players.”

The Terps ended up losing in the final 90-74 to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, but with Heiss leading the team to a title game run, Maryland women’s basketball began to receive national attention. Nearly 10,000 people were in attendance for that game, which was unheard of for a women’s basketball exhibition match at the time. 

“We all looked at each other as pioneers, and I'm sure if you talk to anybody else, they'd look back and say, ‘Oh, we were the ones that put Maryland on the map,’ and we did,” Lisa Schlesinger, also a former teammate of Heiss at Walter Johnson and Maryland said. “Tara was one of the leaders of making that happen because of her athletic ability and her skills.” 

Head coach Chris Weller, who was with the Terps from 1975-2002, was able to lure many top recruits to College Park for the next couple of decades as a result. Heiss led Maryland in scoring during Weller’s first three years and helped compile a 64-14 record during that time. Weller once said, “She's probably one of the best players I've ever seen, among all players and all programs.”

“We knew she was one of the best players on the court because we’d go out and play with men who play college basketball on the streets at night, and she might be the first one they pick on their team because she was such a good passer and ball handler,” Hastings said.

Heiss went on to play for USA Basketball in 1979 and 1980 and was even named to the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. The 1979 USA team she was a part of competed in the R. William Jones Cup, World Championship, Pan American Games, and World University Games, earning three gold medals and one silver medal.

The basketball legend continued to play professionally for the New Jersey Gems of the Women’s Professional Basketball League and the Virginia Wave of the Women’s American Basketball Association during the early 1980s. 

She even had brief stints as an assistant coach for Maryland and Towson following her playing career. 

Heiss’ was later inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003, the Maryland State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011, and the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998. 

Her No. 44 jersey was retired and now hangs in the rafters of XFINITY Center. The number was the same worn by NBA Hall of Famer Paul Westphal, who Heiss regarded as one of her idols. 

“We'd all go play two-on-two together, and we'd all pretend we were different players sometimes,” Schlesinger said. “I loved Julius Erving, so he was always my idol and Larry Bird, I loved him. Tara always loved Paul Westpall.”

Her athletic prowess is evident in her also being inducted into the Greater Washington Fastpitch Softball Hall of Fame in 1996. 

As amazing of an athlete as Heiss was, she was also a tremendous teammate and individual with a strong sense of humor, according to Hastings and Schlesinger. Hastings told the story of when Heiss met Pittsburgh's Wanda Randolph in the paint during a game.

“Tara drove to the hoop and she did the most killer swat and sent Tara’s shot out of bounds. It was just unbelievable,” Hastings said. “We were all dying on the bench. Of course, a lot of us were laughing and she looks over at us and she's laughing her head off and high fiving Wanda.”

“She had kind of a magnetic personality,” Schlesinger said. “Everybody wanted to be around her because she was funny and very easy to be around, very inviting. She just was an easy person to be around and it was the humor, it was absolutely the humor.”

Hastings and Schlesinger also described Heiss as quick-witted and humble. She could give anyone a funky nickname, and despite her celebrity, she avoided the spotlight and never bragged about her accomplishments.

“Everyone will tell you she was humble, she was kind, [and] funny,” Hastings said. “Those are probably the three things that everyone will tell you. And of course, a killer athlete.”

Heiss passed away at the age of 66 on July 7, 2023. Maryland Athletics will honor her as part of its annual Alumni Day on Jan. 20. The Terps will commemorate her career ahead of their game against Illinois. The team will be wearing No. 44 patches in honor of Heiss on their warmups. Maryland also wore the patches for its home season opener. 

Heiss’ legacy is one that will never be forgotten. Her contributions to Maryland women’s basketball and the sport in general are immeasurable. She provided an avenue for future women to attend the University of Maryland and continue a tradition of achieving athletic excellence.

“I would want them to put her on the highest pedestal as far as it goes to point guards and their ability to see the court,” Hastings said. “Just that they see her as a good person who played the game because she loved it and played it at its highest level. … And, of course, a good sense of humor.”