Northeastern University Athletics

Katasha R. Artis has been elected to the Northeastern Hall of Fame for her excellence in the sport of basketball.

Artis, Class of '95, rewrote the Northeastern record book and became arguably the finest women's basketball player in Husky history. She first enrolled in 1991 at the University of Virginia after winning All-America honors as a high school star in Brooklyn, N.Y. In her freshman season at Virginia she suffered a knee injury and decided to transfer to NU where she had to sit out the next season due to NCAA rules.

Her sophomore season started slowly as she recovered from both the knee injury and a two-year layoff from competition. In her first 14 games, the 6'0 forward was the Huskies' high scorer four times, while in the last 14 she was the high scorer nine times. She finished the season with averages of 14.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. In the conference she was the leader in blocks, second in rebounding and third in steals, and was voted Rookie of the Year. With Artis, the team's record improved from 9-19 to 14-14.

Artis really blossomed as a junior, taking NU to an 18-9 season and the finals of the America East playoffs where the Huskies bowed to Vermont 53-51 despite her 26 points and 10 rebounds. She was voted America East Player of the Year and was selected All-East and District I All-America. Her point total of 555 and average of 20.6 per game were both new Husky season records. She also contributed 275 rebounds, 84 blocks, and 94 steals.

As a senior, Artis led NU to a 19-10 campaign and again to the conference finals where the Huskies lost to Maine 70-59 even though she scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. She broke her own season scoring record with 594 points and increased her scoring average to a new Husky high of 21.2. Her point total of 1551 in just three years was good for second in NU history. Her 785 career rebounds was also second-best in program history, while her 220 career blocks tripled the nearest competition and her 260 steals set a new NU record as well. Artis, again, was voted America East Player of the Year, All-East, and District I All-America.

Artis set a new standard for NU post players and elevated the stature of Northeastern basketball throughout the nation. She is currently in her sixth year of professional basketball, playing in the women's professional league of Turkey. In 1997, she played for the Charlotte Sting in the very first season of the WNBA.