History of Temple Basketball

HHIISSTTOORRYY && RREECCOORRDDSS Temple Basketball Hall of Fame The careers and accomplishments of 21 distinguished Temple players and PAM BALOGH BLANCHE VOORHEES BROWN coaches have been VIRGINIA MIDDLETON DOANE MIMI CARROLL-KURTZ (1985‐89) (1919‐27) (1944‐48) (1983‐86) Two‐time team MVP. First woman hired to coach recognized by their Lettered in basketball, The sixth highest scorer in All‐time leader in steals basketball and field hockey. hockey and softball at Temple. program history, tallied with 237. Three‐time Served nine years as basketball induction into the Hall Basketball compiled a 29‐4 1,290 points. An All‐Big 5 all‐Big 5 and inducted coach and her teams compiled record during her career. first team as a senior, she into its Hall of Fame 67 consecutive victories of Fame, Coached the Temple was inducted into the Big in 1995. from 1919‐22. basketball team from 1965‐67. 5 Hall of Fame in 1992 (inducted Feb. 8, 2001) (inducted Jan. 26, 1976) established in 1969. (inducted Feb. 20, 1983) (inducted Jan. 28, 1997) History of Temple Basketball Getting Started coached both sports for three years before she chose to coach only softball after the 1977‐78 Temple University women’s basketball has Owls’ basketball season. She led Temple to a #33 Marilyn Stephens been on the hardwood since 1923, when 21‐48 record to initiate the modern era of Blanche Voorhees Brown began the women’s [1980-84] women’s basketball. basketball tradition with a perfect 12‐0 record. Temple went outside the physical educa‐ After such an auspicious beginning, the Lady tion and athletic departments for the first time Owls, as they were called until the 1989‐90 sea‐ to bring in Maurek’s replacement, Andy Mc‐ son, played three more seasons, though not as Govern, Temple’s first modern day full‐time successful as the first, with only 10 wins overall. women’s head basketball coach in 1978. Mc‐ The early version of the Lady Owls ended after Govern produced Temple’s first winning season the initial four seasons. in the modern era with a 14‐10 mark in 1979‐80 Women’s basketball at Temple was resur‐ and compiled a two‐year record of 22‐21. rected 10 years later in 1937 when Brown re‐ In 1980‐81, Temple enlisted Linda Mac‐ turned to lead the team. Playing only four Donald as the second full‐time head coach in games in the first season of the renewed pro‐ the history of the program. She began the Owls’ gram, the Owls won three games and launched process of national recruiting and scheduling into one of their most successful periods. Dur‐ which brought the team to a Division I, nation‐ ing the next 22 seasons, under the guidance of ally competitive level. The very next year the eight different coaches, the Owls never finished Stephens’ #33 jersey was retired Feb. 12, Owls advanced to the EAIAW Regional Tourna‐ below the .500 mark. During that period, the 2000, at a ceremony in the Liacouras Center. ment (1982) and went on to the National Invi‐ team went undefeated four times, including a tational Tournament. In their first national Temple women’s all‐time leading scorer, Mar‐ three‐season mark of 27‐0 from 1942‐43 to appearance, the Owls finished fifth in the com‐ ilyn Stephens‐Franklyn was inducted into the Temple 1944‐45. During seven other seasons, the Owls Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, the first year she was petition with wins over Illinois State, Southern lost just once. The 1959‐60 season marked the eligible. Mississippi and DePaul. Temple returned to na‐ She completed her career as the most domi‐ end of the Owls’ string of .500 seasons as the tional competition the following year, again in nant player in the history of the Temple women’s team finished 1‐7. Six years later in 1966, Tem‐ basketball program. She holds records in 11 cate‐ the Women’s National Invitational Tourna‐ ple again suspended its women’s team and did gories including scoring, rebounding, and blocks. A ment, this time placing seventh. Kodak All‐American in 1984, Stephens scored 2,196 not return to the court until 1974. points and grabbed 1,516 rebounds in her career. The 1988‐89 season goes down in Temple She is the second all‐time leading scorer in Temple women’s basketball history as one of the great‐ basketball history, male or female (Mark Macon The Modern Era est ever. Led by the one‐two scoring punch of scored 2,609 points). District II First Team All‐Americans Pam Balogh Stephens was the Atlantic 10 and Philadelphia Modern‐day women’s basketball at Tem‐ Big 5 Player of the Year in 1983 and 1984 and was in‐ (18 ppg.) and Kelly Lane (17.8 ppg.), along with ple University began in 1974 when Veronica ducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1989. She was playmaker Karen Healey, the Owls advanced to a member of the U.S. Women’s Junior Olympic team “Ronnie” Maurek was named head basketball in 1981 and was invited to the U.S. Olympic trials in the championship game of the Atlantic 10 Tour‐ and softball coach. The basketball team in Mau‐ 1984. nament by defeating George Washington and The 1984 graduate completed a master’s de‐ rek’s inaugural season finished 7‐8, playing local Rutgers. Unfortunately, a talented West Vir‐ gree and is currently the head women’s basketball schools like Penn State‐Ogontz, Bucks County coach at Cheyney University. ginia team was too much to handle in the finals. Community College and Ursinus. Maurek 54 New Conference. New Traditions. New Rivalries. #ITBEGINS Temple Basketball Hall of Fame ELEANOR MORGAN VERA SALEM EGNER LOUISE LENCO ESHER JENNIFER GOWAN CLAUDRENA HAROLD ADDIE JACKSON DAVIS (1924‐26) (1947‐50) (1979‐82) (1994‐97) (1983, 1986‐88) (1942‐45) Winner of letters in Earned 12 varsity letters, Played basketball from Ranks as the ninth highest 7th highest scorer in Three‐sport varsity athlete basketball and field four each in basketball, 1979‐82 and is the 16th scorer in program history program history with from 1942‐45. She played hockey. Played on the hockey and softball. highest scorer in Temple with 1,251 points in just 1,272 points. Was the on the 1943‐45 basketball 1925 team that had a 12‐0 Captain of the 1950 women’s basketball history three seasons. second woman to score teams that recorded Tem‐ record. coached Templeto basketball team. Set a then with 1,028 points. She The two‐time Big 5 First 30 points in a Big 5 game. Team honoree was ple’s then‐longest unde‐ a 10‐0 record in 1944‐45 Temple and Eastern League played in 83 games and Inducted into the Big 5 scoring record for one inducted into the Big 5 feated streak with 31 wins. averaged 12.4 points a game. Hall of Fame in 1994. and 7‐1 in 1945‐46. season with 185. points. Hall of Fame in 2008. (inducted Feb. 22, 1981) (inducted Feb. 22, 1981) (inducted Jan. 28, 1977) (inducted Feb. 17, 1998) (inducted Oct. 16, 2010) (inducted Feb. 20, 1999) The Owls were awarded an at‐large berth to the basketball. Stephens was named a Kodak Divi‐ until Mark Macon scored 2,609 points from NCAA Tournament for the first time in the sion I All‐American after the 1983‐84 season, 1987‐91, but her rebounding mark still stands. school’s history. With a then program‐best along with notable women’s basketball greats In addition, Stephens is the school’s career record of 22‐10, the Owls advanced to the sec‐ like Cheryl Miller (USC) and Yolanda Laney leader in field goals (919), field goals attempted ond round of the NCAAs by defeating Holy Cross (Cheyney State). From 1980‐84, Stephens built (1816), free throws made (336) and blocks but lost to SEC power Auburn. her reputation as the most dominant women’s (342). Much of MacDonald’s success was due to basketball player ever to step on the court at The formation of the Atlantic 10 Confer‐ talented players like Balogh and Lane and ex‐ McGonigle Hall. She finished her career with ence in 1983 found Temple going head‐to‐head emplified by Marilyn Stephens, who was one of 2,194 points and 1,519 rebounds, both school with nationally ranked teams such as Rutgers, the most prolific players in the history of Temple records at the time. Stephens’ point total stood Penn State, and West Virginia. The team also began logging miles in tournaments all over the United States, playing in Hawaii, California, Alaska, Florida, Alabama, Texas and New Eng‐ land. However, the Owls didn’t need to travel out of the city to encounter tough competition. Four Division I universities in the city: La Salle, Saint Joseph’s, Penn and Villanova, provided ample challenges. The Big 5 women’s round robin competition began in 1979‐80 and the Owls won the title outright in 1982‐83 and 1985‐86 and were tri‐champs with Saint Joseph’s and Villanova in 1983‐84. The Owls MacDonald stepped down in April of 1990, to become the women’s head basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. A little over two months later, Charlene Curtis was hired to take over as the third full‐time head coach and the 17th head coach in the history of the program. During the Curtis Era the word “Lady” was dropped from the team’s moniker and “Owls” was adopted as the team nickname.

Load more