When she was a player at Montclair State College a quarter century ago, New Jersey City University women’s basketball coach Alice Schmidt DeFazio didn’t think she was creating history.
"When I was 20 years old, playing basketball was just something to do," said DeFazio, who still ranks among Montclair State’s leaders in steals and assists. "We never realized we were doing something special."
Teammate Cathy Meyers O’Callahan felt the same way.
"Back then, we had no idea what was going on," said O’Callahan, who is the head coach of the St. Anthony girls’ program. "Women’s college basketball isn’t what it is today."
In 1978, the Montclair State women’s basketball team, coached by Hoboken’s Maureen Wendelken and featuring Hudson County products like Alice Schmidt, Cathy Meyers and Pat Quilty of Jersey City and Pat Colasurdo of Bayonne, shocked the college basketball world by making it all the way to the NCAA Final Four.
Of course, Montclair State was led by the play of Carol Blazejowski, one of the finest players in the history of women’s college basketball. Blazejowski, known as "The Blaze," was named the top player in the nation during her senior year of 1978. Blazejowski, currently the general manager of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, still holds the single game scoring record for anyone, male or female, at Madison Square Garden and is a member of the National Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Without a single scholarship player, Montclair State made it to the Final Four that year, a tournament that was held at the famed Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA.
"When I was a kid, playing in the St. Paul’s (Greenville) courtyard, we used to dream of playing at places like Madison Square Garden and Pauley Pavilion," DeFazio said. "And here we were, a bunch of girls from Hudson County, playing in these storied places. Still, we didn’t think much of it then."
"When we went to the Pauley Pavilion, we got to meet Wilt Chamberlain," O’Callahan said. "We went there to practice and he was in the gym, working out. I’ll never forget that. How many kids from Jersey City get a chance like that?"
Montclair State lost to UCLA, 85-77, in the national semifinals, but bounced back to defeat Wayland Baptist, 90-88, to capture third place in the national tournament. No team without a scholarship player has ever qualified to participate in the Final Four ever since.
In fact, the rules in women’s college basketball have changed dramatically since that spectacular run to glory. There are different classifications, like NCAA Division I, II and III, junior colleges, the full gamut. Those rules are the reasons why no Cinderella team like Montclair State will ever compete for an NCAA championship of that magnitude ever again.
"It really was so special, so historic," DeFazio said. "The only bad thing was that we didn’t win. Plus, it’s 25 years ago. I don’t think of myself as being that old. In retrospect, I’m amazed at what we were able to accomplish."
Officials at Montclair State University, as the school is now known, took the time out to recognize the incredible accomplishments of that 1977-78 team that shocked the world 25 years ago.
A reunion of sorts was held at the school, welcoming back the members of that historic run. There was a reception, filled with happy memories, moments, reminiscences.
"Honestly, when we were all together at the reception, I didn’t want to leave," DeFazio said. "I was laughing to the point of crying, being with everyone again. It really was a lot of fun seeing everyone again. It wasn’t an elaborate ceremony, but it was meaningful, which was nice."
"It’s almost amazing to even believe that it was 25 years ago," O’Callahan said. "These memories are important to us now. A night like that makes you think back and say, `Wow, we really did accomplish something great.’ We accomplished something that will never happen again. It’s unbelievable."
What’s also incredible is the impact that the game of basketball had on those young women, because a majority of them continued on as coaches.
Wendelken went from coaching Montclair State’s women to becoming the long-time boys’ basketball coach at Hoboken High School, before retiring last year. DeFazio has been coaching for the last 20 years, including the last decade at NJCU. O’Callahan began her high school coaching career this year at St. Anthony. Colasurdo-Mayo has been an assistant coach at St. Peter’s College and now is an assistant at Bayonne High. Teammates Jill Jeffrey (former coach at Montclair State) and Blazejowski also made careers in basketball.
"Back then, basketball was a difficult field for a woman to pursue," DeFazio said. "But I think we all had such a positive experience that we wanted to stay involved. It is kind of amazing that we all chose the same kind of path."
Other reunions are planned by the school (during Homecoming week in the fall), as well as with the New York Liberty during the upcoming WNBA season.
"What I try to do is instill in my players that they have so many more opportunities than we had," O’Callahan said. "I try to instill that basketball is more than a sport. It’s a learning experience."
A learning experience that the young women from Hudson County will never forget, even though it was 25 years ago, participating in an event that will never happen again. –
Jim Hague