Birth name Juliene Brazinski Height 1.70 m | Role Basketball Player Name Juliene Simpson | |
 | ||
Born January 20, 1953 (age 71) ( 1953-01-20 ) Elizabeth, New Jersey | ||
Education John F. Kennedy College | ||
Juliene Brazinski Simpson (born January 20, 1953) is an American former basketball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
USA Basketball
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Simpson (Brazinski at the time) was named to the team representing the USA at the 1973 World University Games competition in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was the eighth such competition, but the first one in which the USA competed in women's basketball. The USA team had to play the Soviet Union in the opening round, and lost to the hosts, 92–43. The USA team bounced back and won their next two games. After preliminary play, the teams moved into medal rounds, where the first round loss carried over. In the medal round, the USA won their next three games, including a match against 6–0 Cuba, which the USA won 59–44. That sent them to the gold medal game, but against the host Soviet Union, now 7–0. The USSR won to capture the gold medal, while the USA finished with a silver in their first competition.
In 1975, Simpson played for the USA team in the Pan American Games held in Mexico City, Mexico. The USA team had finished second in 1967 and 1971, but won all seven games at the 1975 event to capture their first gold medal since 1963.
Simpson earned a spot on the USA National team, which competed in the 1975 World Championship held in Cali, Colombia. The USA team lost their opening round game by two points to Japan 73–71. After winning the next game, they faced Czechoslovakia who won by a single point 66–65. This sent the USA team to the consolation rounds, where it won three of four, but dropped a game to Canada 74–68. The USA finished the competition in eighth place.
Simpson continued with the National team to the 1976 Olympics, held in Montreal, Canada. After losing the opening game to Japan, the USA team beat Bulgaria, but then faced host team Canada. Simpson scored 14 points, second only to Nancy Dunkle's 17 points, to help the USA team defeat Canada 84–71. After losing to the USSR, the USA team needed a victory against Czechoslovakia to secure a medal. Simpson scored ten points, to help the team to an 83–67 win and the silver medal.
On June 22, 2017, Simpson was one of four new inductees into the National :Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in Troy, Michigan.