(Lefner) White, Rose Marie
Inducted 2018
Hometown: Lyford
High School: Lyford High School
College: Temple Junior College, Sam Houston State University
Best Known for: Basketball
Lefner began her career as a freshman in 1961 on the Lyford girls’ basketball team.
She made All-District four years, All-Region her senior year and represented Lyford High School for the South Team at the 1965 Texas All-Star game in Waco. She averaged 27 points a game in her four-year high school career.
After graduating from LHS in 1965, she played at Temple Junior College and led TJC in most points in a single season (474), most free throws in a single season (118) and most rebounds in a game (14). She was a second-team All-Regional. In her sophomore season, Lefner averaged 10.9 points. In 1966, she was one of 50 women invited by the U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Committee to participate in the first developmental training camp program. Lefner played at Sam Houston University for her junior and senior years.
After her collegiate career, she began teaching and coaching in Canyon. Her daughter Candace Whitaker is the head women’s basketball coach at Texas Tech University.
