TORONTO – U SPORTS, the national brand of the university sports in Canada, is set to reveal the
Top 100 women's basketball players of the century.
In celebration of the centennial anniversary of U SPORTS women's basketball, the Top 100 –chosen by a committee of U SPORTS women's basketball coaches and partners – will be unveiled beginning
Thursday, Feb. 6, marking the 100
th anniversary of the first Canadian university women's contest between the Queen's Gaels and McGill Martlets on Feb. 6, 1920.
Among the initial inductees – 1930-1980 era - are three pioneers of women's basketball at the University of Saskatchewan.
Marg Sihvon (Curry), Patricia Lawson and Arlene McGinn (Raycroft) are all members of the USask Athletics Wall of Fame and achieved great success at the university, national and international levels.
Sihvon, a graduate of Central Collegiate in Moose Jaw, enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan in 1963.
She was a member of the Huskiette basketball team for five years, twice winning the WCIAA championship.
While a student at the U of S, Margaret was a member of the Saskatchewan basketball team that competed in the inaugural Canada Winter Games, in Quebec City in 1967. She was also a member of the Canadian team at the 1967 Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg.
In addition to basketball, she excelled as a setter on the Huskiette volleyball team for four seasons and was a member of the first intercollegiate field hockey team that went on to win the conference championship.
Lawson, a graduate of Bedford Road Collegiate in Saskaton, enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan (B. A., 1950; B.Ed., 1953) in 1947.
During her four years of studies, Pat was a member of 13 senior intervarsity teams, tying the record set by Dorothy (McKenzie) Walton 20 years earlier.
She was the first University of Saskatchewan athlete to win a Major Athletic Award in just her second year.
While at the University of Saskatchewan, she was a member of the Saskatoon Adilman Aces, who won the 1959 Canadian Senior Women's Basketball Championship. She was also on the Canadian basketball team for the 1959 Pan-Am Games in Chicago.
McGinn, a graduate of City Park Collegiate in Saskatoon, enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan (B. Ed., 1954) in 1950.
She played on the Huskiette basketball team for four years, highlighted by winning the Cecil Race Trophy in 1951-52 as Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union champions.
In four years with the volleyball team, it twice won the Sam Landa Trophy as WCIAU champions.
Arlene was awarded the Spirit of the Youth Trophy in her third season as the athlete best combining leadership, sportsmanship, academics and athletics.
As well as competing in two sports, Arlene was president of the Women's Athletic Board.
She went on to be a coach and administrator at high schools both in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Dr. Arlene McGinn Trophy is presented annually to the top student-athlete in Calgary high school girls basketball.
"Selecting a group of individuals to represent excellence in your conference or league is always a difficult task," said
Ryan Thorne, president of the U SPORTS women's basketball coaches' association and head coach of the Martlets. "This experience has shown me that there have been some amazing young women, who have represented our institutions well through basketball that have gone on to become remarkable women in life. Just researching the stories and receiving the feedback from coaches of different eras, was eye opening. I am grateful to have been a part of this process and hope that the next century is just as fruitful."
Kicking off the campaign, players who competed from 1930-1980 were initially announced, with players from the following four decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s) revealed over the course of the following four weeks leading up to the
2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Basketball Championships in Ottawa. In addition, special features highlighting the incredible careers of select players will also be posted to USPORTS.ca. The campaign culminates with the announcement of the
2020 Nan Copp U SPORTS Player of the Year at the All-Canadian Gala on Mar. 4.
Members of the Top 100 will then be honoured at the Final 8 during the national championship final, hosted jointly by Carleton University, University of Ottawa and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group.
Top 100 U SPORTS Women's Basketball Players of the Century
This list will be updated weekly leading up to the national championship
1930-1980
| Name |
School |
Playing Years |
| Ruth Wilson |
UBC |
1937-41 |
| Nora McDermott |
UBC |
1945-49 |
| Patricia Lawson |
Saskatchewan |
1947-50 |
| Arlene McGinn |
Saskatchewan |
1950-54 |
| Mary MacDonald |
Toronto |
1951-53 |
| Linda Winter Barrett |
Memorial |
1956-58 |
| Darlene Currie |
Calgary |
1956-58
1967-68 |
| Anne Mosher MacVicar |
Acadia |
1957-61 |
| Barb Robertson |
UBC |
1959-64 |
| Marg Curry |
Saskatchewan |
1964-68 |
| Sandra Barr |
UNB |
1964-68 |
| Mary Coutts |
Victoria |
1965-67 |
| Pauline Genzick |
UBC |
1966-69 |
| Betty Ross |
UBC |
1966-71 |
| Joanne Sargent |
UBC |
1968-73 |
| Terri McGovern |
UBC |
1969-72 |
| Bev Barnes |
UBC |
1971-74 |
| Joyce Douthwright Slipp |
UNB |
1971-74 |
| Debbie Phelan |
UBC |
1971-75 |
| Kathy Williams Shields |
Laurentian |
1971-76 |
| Angie Johnson |
Winnipeg |
1971-77 |
| Coleen Dufresne |
Ottawa, McGill |
1971-80 |
| Liz Silcott |
Concordia, Waterloo, UBC |
1972-79 |
| Sylvia Sweeney |
McGill, Concordia, Laurentian |
1973-79 |
| Carol Turney-Loos |
Saint Mary's, Victoria, UBC |
1973-80 |
| Chris Critelli |
Winnipeg, Laurentian |
1974-78 |
| Deb Huband |
Bishop's |
1976-80 |
