Elizabeth (Trinkie) Heller, Beloit Class of 1980, AHH 1991
As they say “records are made to be broken” but I’m proud to be the first woman to have scored over 1,000 points during my career playing basketball at Beloit College back in the days (1976-1980) when facilities, uniforms, pre-game meals were not a given for women athletes.
Not only that, but we didn’t get to play with the smaller ball back then and there was no such thing as a “3 point shot”. I had wonderful teammates and friends to pass me the ball, a coach in Ann Arbor who went to the mat with Bill Knapton on a regular basis, and I loved playing “Noon Brawl” with Elmo, Tom Cohen and the regular group of professors, who were supportive of the women’s team and not too proud to get “faced” on occasion.
Playing basketball at Beloit stretched me in ways that I could not have imagined.
I’ve since moved on to cycling to sustain my love of competition and I currently hold two world records on the velodrome in the Hour and the 2 kilometer pursuit, but god I loved my time playing basketball at Beloit College!
Elizabeth (Trinkie) Heller, Class of 1980
Elizabeth V. Heller, Beloit College Athletic Hall of Honor
- Class: 1980
- Induction: 1991
- Sport(s): Women's Basketball
“Trinkie” Heller was the major force in pioneering women’s intercollegiate basketball at Beloit College. An aggressive point-maker and rebounder, she led the Buccaneers to 45 victories in 66 games, two WIC-WAC divisional titles and four conference tournaments. Heller became the first Beloit woman – and the eighth player – to score 1,000 points; her total of 1,153 is fifth on the all-time list. In addition to being both team MVP and co-captain all four years, she was an all-conference and all-tournament choice as a junior and senior, the first two times this recognition was ever accorded. After leaving Beloit and spending seven years as a department store manager, she enrolled in Washington University’s law school, from which she expects to receive her degree in May. Heller now is an avid cyclist who started racing in 1987. Her accomplishments on wheels rival those on the hardcourt: a member of the Spirits of St. Louis team, two-time recipient of a best all-around rider award and a 1988 Olympic trials participant, she is a 12-time Missouri events champion and four-time national master’s titlist, including a record-setting master’s pursuit performance in San Diego last year.
