Katy Steding
A sharpshooting forward whose clutch three-pointer helped secure the first-ever Olympic gold medal in women's basketball for the United States.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American basketball player and coach·Birthday: December 11·Generation X
Biography
Katy Steding emerged from the Pacific Northwest to become a cornerstone of one of college basketball's earliest dynasties at Stanford University. Under coach Tara VanDerveer, her reliable outside shot and basketball IQ were instrumental in delivering Stanford its first NCAA championship in 1990. But her moment of greatest impact came on the global stage. Selected for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, Steding was a key reserve whose specialty was the three-point shot. In the historic gold medal game against Brazil, with the contest still tight, she sank a critical three-pointer that sparked the decisive American run, cementing the win and the legacy of that pioneering squad. After playing professionally overseas and in the fledgling WNBA, she transitioned to coaching, eventually returning to her alma mater to help guide a new generation of Stanford players, closing a loop on a career dedicated to the game's growth.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Katy was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Katy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Katy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the historic 1996 U.S. women's basketball team in Atlanta.
- Helped lead Stanford University to the 1990 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship.
- Played professionally in the WNBA for the Portland Fire and Sacramento Monarchs.
- Served as head coach of the University of San Francisco women's basketball program for five seasons.
Did You Know?
She made the first three-point shot in the history of the WNBA's Portland Fire.
Before the 1996 Olympics, the team spent a year training together, a novel approach that revolutionized women's basketball.
She was a two-time All-American at Stanford.
She coached the Warner Pacific University men's basketball team, a rare role for a woman.
“A shooter keeps shooting; you can't be afraid to miss.”
