"I started playing competitively in the third grade," Maher said. "But in lowa, there was only six on six for women. So I travelled to Illinois to play five on five with the guys."

Playing against top competition at a young age simply advanced Maher's understanding of the game.

When she got to Harvard, Maher's superior knowledge of basketball allowed to remain a play or two ahead of her college competition.

She knows when to shoot, when to bang the ball down low, and when to make the back door cut for an easy lay-up. Maher, quite simply, knows the game of basketball at its most basic level.

But besides her ability, Maher possesses an insatiable desire for victory--and she proved that at Harvard. In her four years at Harvard, from promising freshman to senior superstar, the Crimson won one league title (her sophomore year) and finished second twice (her junior and senior seasons).

"She is a winner in the true sense of the word," Delaney Smith says. "Because of her work ethic she's impressive at everything she does, on and off the court."

And as one career ends, Maher's work ethic has enabled her to embark on a new one. She'll attend John Hopkins medical school in Baltimore, Maryland, in the fall.

In the future, Maher hopes to be a doctor and a mother. She wants to involve herself in her children's sports careers the same way her parents--her father as a coach, and her mother as a score keeper--did for her.

And knowing Maher, she'll be a great success at both. After all, for many, she is a modern-day hero.