SPRINGFIELD, MASS. ? Two-time Olympian Lynette Woodard, the most prolific scorer in women’s college basketball history and the first female to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, on Friday was honored for her lifetime achievements.

The Kansas University legend was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, the 18th woman to be inducted and the 11th as a player.

“It’s awesome, I’m just very happy to be honored this way,” Woodard said.

She was inducted with Clyde Drexler, who earned the nickname “Clyde the Glide” for his own swooping moves; coach Bill Sharman, already in the Hall of Fame as a player; the late Maurice Stokes, the 1956 NBA rookie of the year; Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Phoenix Suns; and Drazen Dalipagic, an international star.

Woodard, selected in her first year of eligibility, averaged 26 points for the Jayhawks, won an Olympic gold medal with the United States in 1984, and played in the WNBA with Cleveland and Detroit.

Woodard, presented by Globetrotters owner Manny Jackson, recalled how her older brother, Darryl, taught her how to play the game using a rolled-up sock.

The 6-foot Woodard led the nation in scoring in 1979, rebounding in 1978 and steals in 1979, 1980 and 1981.

“I’ve been embraced by the men’s game,” Woodard said. “It was shown to me by playing for the Globetrotters, and now it’s being shown to me by being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I guess you could say I found favor in those places.”

Woodard scored 3,649 points in her four Kodak All-America and two Academic All-America seasons at Kansas. She was selected to two Olympic teams, and was a captain on one of them. She won the 1981 Wade Trophy and was Big Eight player of the decade for the 1980s.

Former Kansas University player and coach Lynette Woodard smiles as John L. Doleve, president and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame, helps her put on her Hall of Fame jacket. Woodard, who also was an Olympic gold medalist and the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, was inducted into the hall Friday in Springfield, Mass., along with Clyde Drexler, Bill Sharman, Maurice Stokes, Jerry Colangelo and Drazen Dalipagic.

“I played for the joy of the game. I played for God, because he gave me the joy of the game,” said Woodard, who played 17 years professionally, including two years in the WNBA.

“As a result, every award you could imagine came down the pike … and now this. It’s like God is showing me favor. It’s truly awesome,” she told the Springfield newspaper.

Woodard, who was an assistant coach at KU last year before serving as interim head coach when Marian Washington took a leave of absence because of an undisclosed medical condition, is working as an investment counselor for A.G. Edwards.

“You can never say never, but at this point I’m committed to what I’m doing now. This is my last job,” she said.

Also Friday night, Drexler’s idol, Julius “Dr. J” Erving presented him for induction.

“I’m dreaming tonight,” Drexler said. “My childhood idol is presenting me for induction into the Hall of Fame. It doesn’t get any better than this. I am dreaming. I don’t want to be awakened.”

“He seemed to fly. I wanted to be like him,” Drexler said of Erving.

What set Drexler apart, Erving said, was his ability and imagination to take the game above the rim “and make things happen.”

Selected as one of the 50 greatest players in the NBA in 1997, the 6-foot-7 guard excelled at all levels of the game — but only after an embarrassing moment in high school.

In his 15-year NBA career, Drexler led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals in 1990 and ’92, and won a championship with Houston in 1995. He’s one of three players in league history with 20,000 points, 6,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists. He won an Olympic gold medal with the Dream Team in 1992.

Stokes had his career cut short when he was paralyzed in his third season when he fell during a game. Teammate Jack Twyman, a Hall of Famer who at 24 became Stokes’ legal guardian and organized an annual benefit game to help defray Stokes’ enormous medical expenses, accepted on Stokes’ behalf. Stokes died in 1970 at 36.

“He was never, ever depressed or angry or said, ‘Why me?’ He voted in every election for all 12 years he was paralyzed,” Twyman said. “People talk about what I did for him, but Maurice repaid me tenfold.”

Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Bob Petit were Stokes’ presenters.

“I wore his number in college. I wouldn’t in the pros out of respect,” Robertson said.

Sharman, inducted as a player in 1976, was presented by Bob Cousy, his backcourt partner with the Boston Celtics. As a coach he won titles in three professional leagues — the ABL with the Cleveland Pipers in 1962, the ABA with the Utah Stars in 1971, and the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972 — to go with his four NBA titles as a player with the Celtics.

During the 1971-72 season, the Lakers, led by Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, posted an NBA-record 33-game winning streak.

The only others to be inducted as both players and coaches are John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens.

“I wish I could go back and shake hands with every player who ever played for me,” Sharman said. “The first time I was inducted it was a great thrill. The second time, it’s a great honor.”

Colangelo is a four-time NBA executive of the year and was instrumental in creating the WNBA.

Dalipagic was a three-time European player of the year.