Tara Heiss, the lightning-quick point guard and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer who in 1978 led Maryland to within a win of a national title, died Friday at 66, her sister, Mary Heiss, confirmed. No cause of death was given.
The 5-foot-6 Heiss was a multisport star at Bethesda’s Walter Johnson High, where she averaged 28 points as a senior on the basketball team before continuing her career at Maryland. Over her four years in College Park, Heiss became the first Terrapin to score 1,000 points and developed into a dazzling passer, establishing a school record for assists (504) that still ranks third in program history.