Set against the backdrop of the 1972 feminist movement, “Our Lady of Victory” tells the true story of sassy newlywed Cathy Rush (Gugino), who becomes the head basketball coach at a tiny, all-girls Catholic college, a team with no gym and no uniforms. She eventually leads the team to the first national championship in women’s basketball, while the school’s nuns fight to keep the owners from selling the institution and its land to developers.
The movie recounts the inspirational journey of the Mighty Macs of tiny Immaculata College. The all-girls Catholic school outside Philadelphia won the first national collegiate women’s basketball championship in 1972, then captured the title the next two years as well.. The film version features Ellen Burstyn as Mother Superior.
Coach Rush, now 60 and semi-retired, describes the film as part “Sister Act,” part “Hoosiers” and part “A League of Their Own.” Maybe toss in “Rocky,” the movie of the fictional boxer who was perhaps Philadelphia’s most famous underdog since, well, the Mighty Macs.
Tim Chambers, the film’s director, knew about the Macs from growing up in the Philadelphia area.
At the time, Immaculata College didn’t even have a home court. The team practiced at area gyms and played all its games on the road. Players sold toothbrushes to raise money for their trip to the first championship — held at Illinois State — but came up short and had to leave three teammates behind.
The Macs entered the 16-team tournament as the 15th seed after being routed by West Chester 70-38 in the regional final. After a solid win over South Dakota State, they edged Indiana State by a basket and stunned top-seeded Mississippi State College for Women in the semifinals 46-43.
Then they avenged their earlier loss to West Chester, winning 52-48 for the first title bestowed by the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.
The Macs marked many milestones in women’s college basketball, including the first game at Madison Square Garden (versus Queens College) and the first nationally televised game (versus Maryland), both in 1975. One of the Macs’ star players, Theresa Shank Grentz, who recently resigned after 12 years as coach of the University of Illinois women’s basketball team, and coach Rush are in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Many of the Macs have cameos in the movie, including Rush — as the bank teller who cashes the coach’s first weekly paycheck, for $19.50.
Filmed during the summer of 2006, the project is still looking for a distributor. Producers hope to have it ready to go next spring in time for Holy Week, which happens to overlap with the NCAA basketball tournament.
Our Lady of Victory movie site
Loading ...
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.