Rush, who coached Immaculata University from 1972 to '77, had been through this - waiting for the thumbs up or thumbs down from the Basketball Hall of Fame - five times before.

The phone rang at 11:45 a.m.

Rush remembered thinking, "Who could that be?"

It was John Doleva, president and CEO of the Hall of Fame.

"I couldn't wait any longer," Doleva said when Rush, who said she still gets choked up thinking about that moment, picked up the phone.

Last night at the Basketball Hall of Fame, Rush's moment came to fruition as she was enshrined - along with Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bill Davidson, Pat Riley, Adrian Dantley and Dick Vitale - as a member of the Hall of Fame's Class of 2008.

Rush, 61, coached the Mighty Macs for only six seasons but led them to a record of 149-15, including three AIAW national championships, before founding Future Stars Camps.

Rush was accompanied to the podium by University of Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, whom she has known since before his coaching career began.

Before the ceremony, Rush said of this induction: "I never did dream it, but it's certainly a dream come true."

While on the podium, she reminisced about those magical years in the '70s.

"We were pioneers before we knew what pioneers meant," Rush said. "Everything that happened to us certainly was a shock."

Rush recognized that Immaculata was led by talented players and future women's basketball coaching legends: Theresa Grentz (Rutgers, Illinois), Rene Portland (Penn State) and Marianne Stanley (Old Dominion), all of whom helped thrust the tiny Philadelphia Catholic institution into the national spotlight.

Three decades later, the Immaculata name still conjures memories of pre-Title IX women's basketball. It still has a certain mystique.

Her players "started with a prayer," Rush joked, "then played like hell."

Said Rush, "I accept this honor for all of the women who coached and played so many years ago who have all been forgotten."

Sonny Hill honored. The Hall honored local legend Sonny Hill yesterday with the second annual Mannie Jackson Basketball's Human Spirit Award. Hill, who serves as an executive adviser for the 76ers, shared the honor with former San Antonio Spurs star David Robinson. Joining Hill here were Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider, Comcast-Spectacor president Peter Luukko, Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski, and Sixers senior vice president Lara Price.