The W Athletics Hall of Fame
Before there was the AIAW – and long before the NCAA adopted athletics for women – The W won the 1971 National Invitational Women's Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament national championship. Just a year before Title IX became the law of the land, the Blues – as the team was known then - rolled through that NIT tourney and left some big-name programs in their wake. On its march to the school's first national championship in any team sport, The W defeated the likes of defending champion Cal State-Fullerton, East Stroudsburg State, North Carolina-Greensboro, and West Chester State. During the regular season, The W picked up wins over Ole Miss, Texas, Tarleton State, Texas Tech, and Southern Mississippi.
The Blues outscored their opponents by a 1400-to-1073 margin, an average of 13.6 points per game. Its only losses that season were to Ouachita Baptist and Belmont College (twice).
The success of the 1970-71 team, it is largely held, played a key role in The W finally getting a regulation gymnasium – Pohl Gym – realized for the campus.
Team members included: Seniors- Dixie Everett, Martha Rayborn; Juniors- Jane Harrington, Libba Birmingham, Jenny Ladner,
Deborah Norwood; Sophomore- Karen Fuller; Freshmen- Brenda Allegrezza, Pat Smith, Jane Gates, Cynthia Shackelford and Dot Easterwood.
