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Former Harvard Basketball Star Maura Healey Elected Mass. Governor

The governor-elect was a star guard and captain for the Crimson, and played professionally in Europe.

Dan Lyons

Former Harvard Basketball Star Maura Healey Elected Mass. Governor
Former Harvard Basketball Star Maura Healey Elected Mass. Governor /
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New Massachusetts governor-elect Maura Healey may be a very familiar face to fans of Harvard athletics. The current state attorney general played basketball for the Crimson under Kathy Delaney-Smith from 1988 to ’92, serving as the team’s co-captain as a senior.  

With Healey’s help, Harvard won the Ivy League in 1990–91. As a senior the following year, her 150 assists were the second-most in a season in program history at the time, now ranking seventh per Harvard’s program record book. She is tied for third in program history with 13 assists in a single game, coming in ’92 against Brown, and was named the team’s best defensive player as a senior.

After her collegiate career, Healey went overseas, playing professionally in Austria for UBBC Wustenrot Salzburg. She returned to the U.S., attending law school at Northeastern. In 2014, she won the race for Massachusetts attorney general, a position she holds until she ascends to the governorship in January. 

“She got as much out of and gave as much to the program as any player in the history of Harvard basketball,” teammate Erin Maher, a junior at the time, told The Harvard Crimson in 1992. “She led by example.”

“Maura’s one of the greatest team leaders I’ve ever played with,” freshman guard Nikole Cronk added.

According to the Associated Press, which called the race for Healey on Tuesday night, she holds a sizable lead with 63.3% of the vote, and 91% of the state’s votes being reported. Healey also becomes the first woman elected as governor in Massachusetts history and the first openly lesbian governor in U.S. history.

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Dan Lyons
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