Vikettes dynasty enters CW Hall of Fame
Victoria women's basketball team won three straight CIAU titles
EDMONTON – Led by legendary Canada West Hall of Fame coach Kathy Shields, the University of Victoria women’s basketball team won four consecutive Canada West titles between 1980 and 1983, and three straight CIAU championships from 1980 to 1982.
Over a remarkable four years spanning the 1979-80 and 1982-83 seasons, the Vikettes went a combined 86-4 over the regular season and playoffs.
The Victoria dynasty was inducted Tuesday into the Canada West Hall of Fame, becoming the first women's basketball team to earn the honour.
At the 1980 CIAU tournament in Halifax, the Vikettes posted a 64-59 victory over Dalhousie in the final to capture their first Bronze Baby. Victoria repeated as national champs in 1981, topping Bishops 61-59 in the gold medal game, in Guelph. They beat Bishops again in 198 2to capture their third national title in as many years.
Individual honours came in spades for the UVic women’s basketball teams during the period, including a pair of CIAU Player of the Year awards (Carol Turney-Loos and Luanne Hebb), and two national coach of the year awards for Shields.
To read more about the Vikettes, click here.
ABOUT THE CANADA WEST HALL OF FAME
For the last century, organized university sport has been a central part of the student experience at institutions across Western Canada. Beginning with the University of Manitoba capturing the first Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WCIAU) men's hockey banner in 1919-20, student-athletes have been competing to reach their full potential in sport and the classroom, while enriching campus life.
To commemorate 100 years of university sport across Western Canada, the Canada West Hall of Fame was created in the spring of 2019, with the first induction class set to be unveiled throughout the 2019-20 season.
VISIT: CanadaWestHallofFame.org