User:Halvorsen brian/Liz Silcott

Elizabeth Silcott is a Canadian basketball player who was a member of the Canadian women's national basketball team. She was cut from the team just days before the 1976 Summer Olympics, which was held in her hometown of Montreal. She later re-joined the team and represented Canada at 1977 Summer Universiade in Sofia, Bulgaria. Silcott also played in the Women's Professional Basketball League during the 1979–1980 season for the St. Louis Streak and the San Francisco Pioneers. Following the season, she jumped from the WBL to the ill-fated Ladies Professional Basketball Association and signed with the New Mexico Energee, who played three games before the league collapsed. Silcott played point guard, standing 5 ft and weighing 135 lb.

Early life and national team
Silcott attended St. Lambert High School in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, where she competed in discus, triple jump and high jump. In 1969, Silcott joined a basketball team of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce junior students. The team found success, defeating the University of Toronto women's team and the defending provincial champion YWCA team, among others. NDG won the 1969 Quebec women's junior basketball tournament, defeating the team from Laval, Quebec in a best-of-three championship series. Stilcott scored 18 points in the deciding game of the series. NDG was defeated by the Hamilton, Ontario team in the Eastern Canada championship series, 2–0.

On May 18, 1970, Silcott placed first in high jump and triple jump and second in shot put and discus during a provincial track and field meet held at Seaway Park in Saint-Lambert. That year, Silcott began competing for the Quebec's women's basketball team, known as the Quebec Stars. The team won the Eastern Ontario women's basketball tournament in December 1970, with Silcott being named to the all-tournament team. The Stars would represent Quebec during the 1971 Canada Winter Games, which was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

In July 1971, Silcott tried out for the Canadian women's national basketball team that would compete in the 1971 Pan American Games.

Amateur career
In July 1972, Silcott was added to the Canadian women's national basketball team roster.

Dayton try-out and St. Louis Streak (1978–1980)
Silcott traveled to Dayton, Ohio to attend a free agent try-out camp for the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) during the inaugural 1978–79 season. Silcott went to Dayton with the understanding that the try-out camp would have scouts from every WBL team, but when she arrived she found it was exclusively for the Dayton Rockettes. The team offered Silcott a contract, but she declined.

The following season, Silcott signed with the St. Louis Streak, after first turning down an offer from the Chicago Hustle. She shared a room in St. Louis with teammate Jeanie Loyd. On November 6, 1979, a day before the team's first preseason game against Chicago in Griffith, Indiana, Silcott was suspended for disciplinary reasons following an argument with head coach Larry Gillman. She briefly returned to Concordia University in Montreal to continue her masters studies, but ultimately returned to St. Louis. Gillman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the the disagreement stemmed from Silcott not wanting to attend practice. Silcott claimed that she was only apprehensive to attend practice because Gillman would yell and curse at her. She made her debut four games into the regular season against the New Jersey Gems, scoring 26 points in the Streak's first victory of the season (86–83). During her second game, Silcott scored 34 points against the Chicago Hustle. The Streak won the game, 96–95.

Silcott garnered the nickname Liz "The Whiz" from St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriters. During a triple-overtime win over the San Francisco Pioneers on December 13 in front of just 220 attendees at Kiel Auditorium, Silcott scored a WBL season high 46 points, going 18-for-41 from the field. She bested her season-high on December 19 against the Minnesota Fillies, scoring 50 points after going 20-for-39 from the field. Gillman praised Silcott following the game, telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she is the greatest one-on-one basketball player to ever play in St. Louis. He asserted that Silcott has more quickness than former NBA St. Louis Hawks players Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan and Lenny Wilkens. Minnesota player Donna Wilson told the Post-Dispatch that Silcott was impossible to contain, in-spite of the Fillies double and triple-teaming her on defense. Wilson stated, "I really don't know how to stop her. She can go left or she can go to her right. You can stay with her for a while, but the next thing you know she has spun and then she's gone. I don't think there's anybody in this league that can stop her." Going into the Streak's game against the Iowa Cornets at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa on December 27, Silcott led the WBL in points per game with 32.7. Iowa featured the league's second-best scorer, Molly Bolin, who bested Silcott in the game — scoring 42 points to Silcott's 36. St. Louis won the game, 115–106.

Although Gillman praised Silcott's play, he was also highly critical of his star player. He was quoted in Ebony as saying, "Fundamentally, she is the worst player on the team and at age 29, she doesn't show much maturity." He also said, "This team is excellent with the exception of one player [Silcott]." In response, Silcott said she was, "Black, proud and intelligent" and that rubbed some people the wrong way.

Trade demand and San Francisco Pioneers (1980)
On January 11, 1980 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Silcott was demanding a trade due to disagreements with Streak head coach Larry Gillman. At the crux of Silcott's issues with Gillman was his criticisms of her game, saying he would focus solely on her faults and rarely acknowledge her strengths. She told Post-Dispatch reporter Cal Fussman, "The situation that exists now is that I find it very difficult for Larry and me to get along. The problem is I may do one thing and he'll say something else is wrong with my game. I try my best, I am only human. I feel I've done a lot for the team. The problem is Larry harps on my weaknesses. Every individual has faults, I'm not perfect." Silcott stated she considered abandoning her team after their game on January 5 against the New York Stars in New York City. After the game, she met with a reporter at the bar of the hotel where the Streak were lodged. Gillman came up to them and addressed Silcott's performance during the game, telling her that her poor free throw shooting — Silcott had gone 8-for-15 from the line — cost St. Louis the game. Silcott said of that incident, "I don't think it was called for. I was hurt." While in New York, she met with league officials to inform them of her issues with Gillman. Silcott claims the league asked her not to quit the Streak and to allow them to help resolve the issue.

In response to Silcott's demand for a trade, Gillman stated that other WBL teams were not interested in acquiring her. St. Louis owner and general manager Vince Gennaro said of the situation, "Without her we're a team without 34 points, eight assists and five steals a game. I don't know what will happen. I don't want to play without her. And I don't want to play against her. [...] I know she's not happy here. I don't know if she wants to be happy here. If we do trade her, presumably we'll get a hell of a player in return. Realistically, I don't see her and Larry getting along." Gennaro also asserted that Silcott's salary was a factor in the trade demand, due to her being paid under the league average of $10,000 a year. He justified the amount he was paying her, telling the Post-Dispatch that Silcott was making more than WBL MVP Rita Easterling did during the 1978–79 season. Silcott's exact salary was $7,300, which she requested be increased, but Gennaro declined. Silcott's attorney, Jim Greenblatt, sent Gennaro a contract that called for a $100,000 salary (including performance incentives).

Fans responded to the trade demand by showing up to the next Streak home game with signs reading, "Trade Gillman". Silcott would continue to play for St. Louis, and scored 37 points for her team during their 100–97 victory over the California Dreams on January 17.undefined She was named to the WBL Eastern All-Star team on January 21. Before she left for Chicago to attend the 1980 WBL All-Star Game, the Post-Dispatch reported that Silcott appeared to be content with staying in St. Louis. A difference in Gillman's coaching style was observed by the Post-Dispatch, as the once expressive coach was now more subdued on the sidelines during games. When asked about the change, Gillman said, "I'm not here to pacify players. I'm here to win games. If we win, then Liz is happy, I'm happy, the other players are happy, the owners are happy, the fans are happy — everybody is happy." Silcott said of the change, "Gillman didn't say he was going to be different, but he has been. I don't know how long it will last but I'm enjoying the holiday."

Silcott scored 11 points during the All-Star Game, which was held at Alumni Hall on the campus of DePaul University. The Western All-Stars won the game, 115–112. St. Louis owner and general manager Vince Gennaro left the WBL All-Star Game upset at Eastern coach Dean Meminger for substituting Silcott out of the close game, believing that if he left her in the East would have won. Meminger conceded that his substitutions may have cost his team the game, but ultimately defended his decisions saying, "...this is an all-star game. The main objective is to have fun and to play as many players as you can to let the fans see them."

On February 8, Silcott was suspended indefinitely by Gennaro for allegedly entering into trade talks with the California Dreams without permission from Streak management. Silcott, through her attorney, Jim Greenblatt, called the suspension a publicity stunt. She admitted to placing a call to California management, but denied discussing a trade. Greenblatt asserted that regardless of her actions Silcott should not have been suspended for tampering since the league's rules against unsolicited trade talks only applied to teams, not individual players. He also claimed the league's suspension was tantamount to defamation.

The Streak announced on February 11 that they finalized a trade to send Silcott to the San Francisco Pioneers in exchange for Lisa Brewer and a first-round draft pick in the 1980 WBL draft. Silcott was leading the league in scoring and Brewer, a guard, averaged just 3 points per game. Gennaro did not tell Pioneers general manager Frank LaPorte that Silcott was attempting to renegotiate her salary. Greenblatt said that Silcott had not decided if she would report to the Pioneers or return to her masters studies at Waterloo University. Two days later, she traveled to San Francisco to join her new team, but did not suit up that night for their game against the Iowa Cornetts. Silcott's first appearance with the Pioneers was a home game on February 23 against the California Dream. Silcott scored 22 points and fouled-out as the Pioneers lost to the Dream, 88-80.

Silcott developed a good relationship with her new head coach, LaPorte, but she had trouble adapting to the Pioneers' offense. Anita Ortega, who was fourth in the WBL in scoring, struggled to match her totals before Silcott's acquisition. LaPorte refused to blame Silcott for the team's struggles, instead blaming it on the intensity of the late-season race for the playoffs.

Tampa Bay, New Mexico and later career
Management for the Tampa Bay Sun, the WBL's expansion team set to join the league during the 1980–81 season, expressed interest in acquiring Silcott. On August 25, 1980, San Francisco agreed to a trade with Tampa Bay for a third-round draft pick in exchange for Silcott.

Silcott effectively retired from professional basketball in 1981 after the collapse of the WBL. That year, Fitness and Amateur Sport Canada (now known as Sport Canada) established an internship for former national team and college players to help them transition to other careers in sports. Silcott was selected for the first round of internships. She expressed an interest in sports marketing, saying that her experience in the WBL taught her how not to do business. "Instead of starting off small and and expanding they started off big and collapsed," Silcott told the Montreal Gazette. During her internship, Silcott was tasked with coming up with ideas to increase female participation in basketball. She put forth several suggestions including, encouraging junior college teams to enter international tournaments, establishing a Canadian women's national championship game and naming a nation-wide all-star team — as opposed to province-by-province teams.

In August 1987, Silcott was invited to the Toronto training camp of the upstart International Basketball Association (later renamed the World Basketball League), which was a men's league with rules barring any player over 6 foot 4 inches.