This is the fourth profile of six individuals being inducted into the 2018 RMAC Hall of Fame on Friday, July 13 at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel. The 1997 and 1998 Regis Volleyball Teams will also be inducted. To read the other three profiles on Olin Hatfield Chilson, Dick Drangmeister and Hannah Briggs, click here.
Nearly three decades ago, former Chadron State College (CSC) women’s head basketball coach Kip Cady, jumped in the car with his family and drove nearly 12 hours from Nebraska to Oklahoma to watch a young lady play in a single game of basketball. It was a moment when only Coach Cady knew, that he had found himself a star. The young lady from East Chicago, Indiana, was Tricia Lukawski.
The story of how a student-athlete from the Midwest, where basketball dominates the sports landscape, ended up in Western Nebraska is an interesting one.
Tricia was raised in a family of competitors. Her father played college football at the University of Kentucky, partially under the great Paul “Bear” Bryant. Her brother played football at Indiana University. Athleticism was instilled in Tricia early on. While playing women’s basketball at East Chicago Central High School, she received several offers to play at the collegiate level, including Division I. One coach, however, seemed more persistent than the rest.
A Michigander, who moved out west to coach, needed a player to build his program around at Chadron State in Chadron, Nebraska. Cady knew talent was everywhere in the Midwest but finding that talent in the late 1980s was the struggle. Cady turned to his team for suggestions.
“About three days after I asked, a player came in my office after calling her high school coach,” he said. “She said, ‘Coach, there’s this girl that could definitely help the program. She has some contacts, but not what she deserves.’”
That girl was Tricia Lukawski and after seeing her game film, Cady knew he had to have her on his team. Cady and his family traveled to Oklahoma to watch Tricia play in an All-Start game in Bethany, Oklahoma. After the game he spoke with Tricia about playing for Chadron State and Cady would soon find out, his persistence paid off.
“A couple weeks later, I call it the ‘blessed day,’ Tricia called to say she was coming to Chadron State. It was the highlight of my coaching career,” explained Cady.
Her first year at Chadron State, prior to the Eagles joining the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), Tricia impressed everyone in the program, from her teammates to the assistant coaches, with her hard-nosed attitude on the court and her outgoing personality off the court. Because of her skill level and her experience at a large high school, her team immediately saw her as a leader, and the player the Eagles’ needed to build the foundation for a successful program.
In a scrimmage against a junior college, Cady witnessed a moment he will never forget.
“Tricia got a fast break and was driving down the court,” Cady described. “She planted and went up for a layup, when an opponent gave her a chest bump that turned her body 90 degrees, facing away from the basket. She then snapped a pass backwards to her teammate who got the score. I turned to my assistant and said ‘Yeah, she’ll do,’ which was a huge understatement.”
Her will to win and all-business mentality would go on to shape the rest of her years with the Eagles.
The 1990-91 season saw the Eagles join the RMAC and Tricia average the most points per game of her career with 20.3. Her unstoppable three-point shots made Chadron State a force to be reckoned with. Being new to the conference, most teams didn’t know what to expect from the Eagles and Tricia took full advantage of that. Her success during CSC’s first year in the RMAC earned her First Team All-RMAC recognition.
Tricia continued to excel on the court her junior year, averaging 18.3 points per game. Chadron State brought in William Rider as the new head coach, and the team went 3-9, but Tricia was again a First Team All-RMAC selection. In addition to her successes as an athlete, she shined in the classroom, and was named RMAC Scholar-Athlete and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Scholar-Athlete.
“We used to say that players in the old days didn’t have handheld devices to occupy their time,” said Rider. “If they had extra time, they went to the gym and shot [around]. Tricia spent a lot of time in the gym and in the classroom and because of that she excelled and grew her skills and talent.”
The extra time paid off her senior season, when the Eagles finished at the top of the conference with a 10-2 RMAC record. Tricia averaged 19.7 points per game and broke the Eagles’ record for most three-pointers made in a game (eight) and most field goals made in a season (191), both of which she holds or shares today. That season, she was the unanimous choice for the RMAC’s Most Outstanding Player and became the first player in program history to be named an All-American, a title she shares with one other Eagles’ women’s basketball player today.
In her four years at Chadron State, Tricia’s competitive spirit and leadership that could not be denied propelled her to 12 school records. Today, she is still the Chadron State leader in career points with 1,869, career field goals made with 667, and three-pointers made with 238. She graduated with a 3.81 grade-point average (GPA) and was named RMAC Scholar-Athlete for a second time in her final year with the Eagles.
Since graduation, Tricia has taught and coached in East Chicago-area schools, giving back to the community that shaped her into the player and person she is today. She briefly played for the short-lived professional women’s basketball league, the Women’s Basketball Association (WBA).
In 2007, she was inducted into the East Chicago Sports Hall of Fame. The following year, Tricia was elected to the 12-member All-Time Women’s Basketball Team in honor of the RMAC’s Centennial celebration. She was also selected for the Chadron State Athletics Hall of Fame.
When asked what Rider remembered most about Tricia, he praised her for her strong competitiveness, talent, and relentlessness.
“She was not the quickest girl on the team but had a great release and jump shot. If she was open, no one could stop her from scoring,” he said.
Tricia laid the groundwork for the success of Chadron State’s women’s basketball program and left a legacy in the RMAC that will not soon be forgotten. Her will to win, determination to be the best, and commitment to her team will be remembered beyond all of her accolades.
Tricia will be honored at the 2018 RMAC Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet, held at the Colorado Springs Marriott on Friday, July 13. To purchase tickets online and for more information, visit the
RMAC Hall of Fame page.