Natisha Hiedeman wears her heart on her sleeve. Literally. It’s been there in an orange Connecticut Sun jersey, a red Atlanta Dream one and in blue and green for the Minnesota Lynx. Her shoulder is tattooed with ‘Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family.’
This mantra articulates her bond to Marquette women’s basketball, where she set records from 2015-19. A career so strong the university welcomed her into the ‘M Club’ Hall of Fame on Jan. 10.
“If I’m at a different university,” Hiedeman said. “There’s no telling if I’d be in the WNBA or what the future would have looked like for me.”
The seven-year professional helped lead Marquette to its first Big East tournament championship (2017), first of two conference regular season championships (2018 and 2019), three NCAA tournament appearances (two wins) and first full season ranked in the Top 25 AP Poll (2018-19). In her final year, Hiedeman was unanimously awarded both All-Big East first-team and Big East player of the year.
She finished her career as a Golden Eagle with the most 3-pointers (301) and third most points (1,913) in program history. These accomplishments are some of the biggest contributors to the WNBA player Hiedeman is today.
“It was going through the tough moments with my teammates that really made us come close together,” Hiedeman said.
Carolyn Kieger coached Hiedeman during her time at Marquette and now coaches at Penn State. She even brought Hiedeman on the Nittany Lions coaching staff from 2022-24: one season as the director of player development and another as assistant coach.
The success both had at Marquette launched them to where they are now.
When the two spent countless hours in the Al McGuire Center together, Kieger realized how much potential Hiedeman had. Sure, she never saw her miss a sprint—in fact she led most of them—but more importantly, she saw how big of a contributor she was to team success. Hiedeman showed up in many big moments.
“Early on in her career, I knew how coordinated she was,” Kieger said. “I’ve never seen another player that I’ve coached as coordinated as her.”
During her sophomore year, Hiedeman put down a 24/6/5 stat line against nationally ranked Oregon State on the Beavers’ home floor, and as a junior she dropped 32 points against Dayton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, then the most by a Golden Eagle in an NCAA Tournament game in program history.
But coordination isn’t everything. Hiedeman’s admiration for basketball propelled her into Marquette acclaim.
“She absolutely loves the game.” Kieger said. “She’s just got the superhuman quality of making others around her happy and joyful and bringing that passion.”
Hiedeman’s coaches would “bring the army people on us” during practices that may have closer resembled basic training. But she shifted how she and her teammates viewed that tough work.
When the Golden Eagles would go through shooting drills at practice, Hiedeman set the mood. It would be easy to forget about teammates’ scores while focusing on shooting form, release and aim. Not for Hiedeman. She was hyper-focused and vocal about getting the highest score, morphing the affair into a competition. That, in turn, pushed everyone else to become better.
Especially the four teammates who played all four years of their collegiate basketball careers with Hiedeman.
“We grew together,” Hiedeman said. “Those were the most memorable moments.”
Through a busy year-round WNBA and Unrivaled schedule, Hiedeman remains in contact with those she formed relationships with at Marquette, especially her former coach.
“She not only just made me a better coach,” Kieger said. “She made me a better person.”
On induction day, Hiedeman had those closest to her at Fiserv Forum in the stands cheering as she was honored. As she walked to half-court to receive her plaque, her smile and tattoo said it all.
“I was right where I was supposed to be.”
This article was written by Benjamin Hanson. He can be reached at benjamin.hanson@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @benhansonMU.