The long wait for basketball's highest honor is over for former Immaculata women's coach Cathy Rush.

After being rejected on five previous attempts, Rush was to be among the inductees named this morning to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, a source close to the selection process said last night.

"It's most likely going to happen," said Ann Meyers, general manager of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, after Rush's nomination on Feb. 15. "They've been naming women every year and the honor is long overdue for Cathy. I'm thrilled for her."

Meyers is already a Naismith Hall of Famer. Like Rush, she also was elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.

Rush led the Mighty Macs to the first three national titles of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women from 1972 to '74 and produced a 149-15 record in seven seasons (1971-77).

She also led Immaculata to three other Final Four appearances (1975-77) before the NCAA's involvement in women's championships in 1981-82.

Rush could not be reached at her home in Florida over the weekend.

After being nominated in February, Rush said, "I am humbled by the honor, if it comes, and certainly thank the people who have supported me for so long."

Several of Rush's former players went on to their own success at the Division I level.

Marianne Stanley, now an assistant at Rutgers, led Old Dominion to three national titles, including one in the NCAA in 1985. She also coached in the WNBA and at Southern Cal and Penn.

Theresa Grentz won an AIAW title at Rutgers in 1982. She later moved to Illinois before retiring after last season and returning to her alma mater as an assistant to the president.

Rene Portland built Penn State's program, leading the Nittany Lions to the Women's Final Four at the Wachovia Spectrum in 2000. She resigned after last season.

Rush was scheduled to be part of the celebration this week at a movie premiere at the Women's Final Four in Tampa, Fla. Our Lady of Victory, about Rush and the first title in 1972, was shot on Immaculata's campus and in other parts of Chester County last summer.

However, the project is still in its post-production stages and Disney has yet to announce a release date.