The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table will be inducting seven new members into its Hall of Fame on Monday, Sept. 18. The Induction Class of 2023 includes four athletes, a coach, a community leader and a special achievement honoree.
This is the second in a series of stories about this year’s inductees.
Paula Charest Lilly helped to pioneer the Title IX era of women’s athletics in the Santa Barbara area, leading Bishop Diego High School to consecutive CIF-Southern Section basketball championships in 1977 and 1978. She also set a school scoring record that lasted for 35 years.
She played in the CIF playoffs during all four of her seasons at Bishop. The Cardinals lost to Brawley in the 1976 CIF-2A semifinals. They earned their revenge in 1977 by beating Brawley 52-49 in the CIF-2A final.
Paula also led the Cardinals to a 38-33 victory over Valley Christian of Cerritos in the CIF-1A final in 1978. After the game, coach Cookie Dawson credited her defensive effort as the key to Bishop’s low-scoring triumph.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table honored her as its 1978 Player of the Year for girls basketball. She also received first-team All-CIF honors that year and was a third-team choice as a junior in 1977.
Her 1,052 career points stood as Bishop Diego’s school record until Greer Shull passed her with 1,097 in 2013. Paula’s daughter, Jordyn Lilly, then broke that mark with 1,288 points while leading the Cardinals to another CIF championship in 2015.
“The impact Title IX had on me and many of my female peers was profound,” Paula said. “Bishop Diego provided us the venue to perform and excel.
“It was sheer joy just to be able to play sports and compete against each other. The most significant award that I ever received was the opportunity to play sports and compete.”
Paula, who also played varsity tennis and ran track, was inducted into Bishop Diego’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. Her daughter received induction in 2022.
Paula briefly attended Loyola Marymount University before transferring to UCSB to play basketball for the Gauchos. She continued on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology at Chico State, with a minor in Special Education, and a masters’ degree in Exercise Science at Texas Women’s University.
She’s volunteered as a physical therapy aide at convalescent hospitals and at the Santa Barbara Rehabilitation Center. She coached basketball at the Boys & Girls Club from 2000 to 2006, and at the Page Youth Center from 2007 to 2011.
Paula received the 1st IIEH Technogym USA& IHRSA Best Practice Award in 1999. She currently serves as director and personal trainer for the Santa Barbara Athletic Club’s Cancer Wellfit™ Program.
“Personally the best compliment I ever received was from a Wellfit participant,” she said. “They said, ‘Thank you for helping me forget that I have cancer … Your program helps me forget and lets me feel ‘normal’.”
Paula also works with her husband, Martin, at Dynasen Inc., a family-owned research and development business.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class includes: Alex Mack (San Marcos High), Sami Hill (Dos Pueblos), Paula Charest Lilly (Bishop Diego) and Jenna Ridgway Corliss (San Marcos), honored for their achievements as athletes; Greg Patton, a Bishop Diego and UCSB alum, recognized for his remarkable coaching career; San Marcos alum Harvey Bottlesen, who founded the Santa Barbara Tennis Club, is the community leader, and journalist John Zant, a UCSB alum, who is being inducted for his seven decades of providing quality sports writing for the community.
The SBART also is honoring one its founders, 96-year-old Bill Bertka. He is a L.A. Lakers legend, having been a part of 10 championship teams as an assistant coach and consultant.
The SBART Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion. Tickets can be purchased at this link.
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