Kahdeejah Herbert
Kahadeejah Herbert was the first Lady Lion basketball player to score over 2,000 points in a career, and she is only one of three to do so in Penn State history.
Herbert grew up in a hostile environment in Willingboro, NJ and became a mother at the young age of 16.
Herbert had not participated in organized athletics prior to her daughter’s birth. Bill and Evelyn Lewis, neighbors of Herbert and parents of gold medalist, Carl Lewis, encouraged her to participate in track and field and play basketball during her final two years of high school.
Herbert excelled on the basketball court and graduated from high school in 1981 before going on to play at Penn State.
“The team was my first real family experience, and coach (Rene) Portland was like the mother I never had,” Herbert said.
The Lady Lions also had success on the court during Herbert’s career. During her freshman campaign, Penn State went 24-6 and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Lady Lions played in the NCAA Tournament all four years of Herbert’s career.
Herbert still holds several Lady Lion records. She was the first in program history to score 2,000 points in a career. She is the all-time leading rebounder with 1,103, and she holds the record for field-goal percentage in a season (.764 ) during the 1983-84 campaign.
Herbert currently works for AT&T as an engineer and project manager and played a major role in developing U-verse, the company’s new digital television service. Herbert’s daughter finished nursing school in 2009.