TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State women's basketball graduate assistant and former player Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir has accepted an invitation to meet with members of the White House senior administration on Wednesday, February 4 in Washington, D.C.
Abdul-Qaadir, who is a practicing Muslim, was hand selected to meet with White House senior officials as part of the Muslim American Leaders Meeting. She previously visited the White House in September 2009 as a special guest for an iftar dinner after Ramadan, a Muslim observance. She is regarded as the first Muslim-American collegiate women's basketball player who played completely covered, except for her hands, and while wearing a hajib.
“I am truly honored to receive an invitation to meet with other Muslim-Americans and White House senior officials,” Abdul-Qaadir said. “It is very special to be asked to return to the White House, and be an ambassador for young Muslim-American women and athletes.”
A graduate of the University of Memphis where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Health and Human Performance, Abdul-Qaadir used her final season of collegiate eligibility with the Sycamores in 2013-14. She was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year, a MVC First Team honoree and a MVC Scholar Athlete second team selection.
In her lone season at Indiana State, she ranks 10th all-time in single season scoring (454 points) and averaged a team-high 14.2 points guiding her team to an MVC Regular Season Championship last season. She held a .396 field goal percentage, dished out a team-high 140 assists and picked up 62 steals while compiling over 1,000 points in her five year playing career. In addition, Abdul-Qaadir earned a combined seven MVC Player, Newcomer and Scholar Athlete of the Week awards.
The Springfield, Mass. native remained in Terre Haute following her playing career and began a one year role as the graduate assistant/director of operations role for the Indiana State women's basketball team. She will graduate in May with a master's degree in Coaching.
Abdul-Qaadir boasts an impressive basketball resume as she broke the Massachusetts state scoring record, for both males and females, scoring over 3,000 career points. She played point guard for four seasons at Memphis where she earned C-USA All-Academic honors. As a redshirt freshman, Abdul-Qaadir was the female recipient of the “Most Courageous” Award from the United States Basketball Writers Association at the 2011 Final Four.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Women's Basketball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
