The Mighty Macs
Darcie Vincent hasn’t yet had the chance to see “The Mighty Macs,” a movie released in theatres two weeks ago that tells the story of the Immaculata College team that won the first women’s national basketball championship, but she’s looking forward to it.
Vincent, Appalachian State’s women’s basketball coach who has Pennsylvania roots, knows some of the real-life principals of the movie, including Cathy Rush, who coached the Macs to three straight titles from 1972 through 1974 despite limited resources. Immaculata is a private Catholic school located 20 miles from Philadelphia.
Vincent, who played basketball at Duquesne and coached college basketball at Pennsylvania schools Slippery Rock and California – and won a national championship of her own with a Division II title in 2004 at California – was just 2 years old when the Macs won their first title, but the program is a pioneer of woman’s basketball.
“And the thing is they did it at such a small school,” Vincent said. “Imacculata was out there at that time. They were still playing in skirts. It was an interesting time to do all that they were able to do.”
Vincent knows Rush as well as a couple of members from the Macs’ title teams, and worked at Rush’s basketball camp in the summers.
The movie, which stars Carla Gugino and Elley Burstyn, made a brief run in Winston-Salem and is showing in Greensboro.