Hall of Fame
Sheila A. Henderson is a native of Yonkers, NY. She attended PS 19 elementary school where she became intrigued with the game of basketball. Sheila played point guard at Yonkers High School where she averaged 21 points per game and rose to being the #2 ranked girls player in Yonkers at the time.
It was during high school where she first encountered Coach Ray Del Maestro, who was the head coach at Gorton High School. Yonkers and Gorton would become one of the greatest rivals in girls basketball over the next four years. Although Sheila considered Coach Del Maestro and Gorton a long standing rival, she had a deep desire to play for him one day.
Sheila then attended Dutchess Community College but after her freshman year, returned to Yonkers. While deciding her next steps, she happened to encounter Coach Del Maestro, who was now the Head Coach at WCC, and the rest was history. In 1983, Sheila was the star point guard for the Vikings. She and her five teammates (whom she dedicates her Hall of Fame bid to) took Region 15 by storm. The team ended the season 20-4 and was the smallest squad to reach the 24 team NJCAA National Championship tournament. Sheila was named as the MVP for Region 15 as well as an All-American Honorable Mention.
Sheila believes, her time at WCC was PRICELESS, saying: “It was an integral part of my development of becoming a women, honing my skills as an athlete, whereby using these transferable skills which has led me to becoming the successful person I am today.” Sheila graduated WCC in 1985 with an Associates Degree In Applied Science & Human Services. After WCC, Sheila moved on to Iona College, where she finished her basketball career. She graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. She then returned to her high school alma mater in Yonkers as a substitute teacher and Richmond Children’s Center as a Social Worker.
In 1998, Sheila found her way back to the basketball court, this time as a high school basketball official. She eventually worked her way up to officiating at the collegiate level. She worked in some of the most well known conferences (SEC, Sun Belt, and MEAC) just to name a few. Soon enough, she was recruited to the NBA development and training program. She was trained by prominent NBA officials, Ronnie Nun, and Lee Jones. In 2000, Sheila was later called to become a WNBA basketball official. But before making her debut, Sheila was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) (an autoimmune disease that impacts the major organs) and her officiating career was cut short. In 2003, she moved to the District of Columbia where she now works for the D.C. Government. In 2011, Sheila received her Master’s Degree in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from THE Trinity Washington University where current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius are alumni. In addition, in 2018, she became licensed and ordained as an Evangelist, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Presently, she serves as an administrator and Athletic Director at Luke C. Moore high School in Washington DC and is looking forward to retirement in 2023.
