NAME: Thunderettes
UNIVERSITY: British Columbia
CATEGORY: Team
SPORT: Women's basketball
YEARS ACTIVE: 1969-75
HIGHLIGHTS:
Six consecutive conference championships (1969-75)
Three straight national titles (1972-74)
Combined 56-4 in Canada West play (1972-73 to 1974-75)
Three players who would go onto enter the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame
STORY:
The dominant program during the early days of Canada West in the 1970s, the UBC Thunderettes women's basketball program was a West Coast power.
Led by the likes of future Canadian Basketball Hall of Famers Joanne Sargent, Kathy (Shields) Williams, and Carol Turney, UBC claimed conference championships every season between 1969-70 and 1974-75.
Along with their regional excellence over first Western Intercollegiate Athletic Association competition (1969-72) and then Canada West beginning with the 1972-73 season, UBC soared on the national stage as well.
In 1969-70 the program claimed the Canadian Senior 'A' national title with a win over the St. Vital Manitoba Grads 83-54 in the championship game, played in Saint John, New Brunswick. Overall, UBC went a remarkable 32-6 that season, establishing a program win record that stood for more than three decades.
The 1969-70 edition of the team was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, acknowledging that team's special season.
"We were all for one, an amazing group and I don't know if we knew it at the time, but we were breaking barriers. We were the first women's team to play in War Memorial Gym," recalled Betty Ross, who was a key part of the squad.
Beginning in 1971-72 there was a new national prize UBC had their sights on - the Bronze Baby, signifying university women's basketball supremacy. For three consecutive seasons, no one could best the Thunderettes, as they claimed wins over UNB (1972 and 1974) and Manitoba (1973) to top the nation.
From 1972-73 to 1974-75, UBC was nearly unbeatable in Canada West play, amassing a 56-4 record, establishing themselves as the conference's first women's basketball dynasty. Overall, they went 63-5 in conference and national tournament play over the four-year span, losing just once at the national tournament (1975 national final to Laurentian).
A trio of members from the Thunderettes have been inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame as individuals, as head coach Ken Shields, Kathy (Williams) Shields, and Joanne Sargent were all part of the conference's inaugural hall of fame class in 2019-20.
Written by Evan Daum
UBC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTERS (1969-1975)
1969-70
Heather Cranston
Brenda McFarlane
Terri McGovern
Jan Gee (Kainer)
Wendy Grant
Eija Peitso
Betty Ross
Joanne Sargent
Carol Shollert
Linda Willard
Kathy Williams (Shields)
Coaches: Ken Shields
Norm Vickery
1970-71
Bev Barnes
Heather Cranston
Wendy Grant
Jan Gee (Kainer)
Brenda McFarlane
Terri McGovern
Debbie Phelan
Eija Peitso
Joanne Sargent
Linda Willard (Evans)
Kathy Williams (Shields)
Coach: Norm Vickery
Manager: Heather Butcher (Lennie)
1971-72
Bev Barnes
Bev Bland (Preston)
Heather Cranston
Jan Gee (Kainer)
Wendy Grant
Linda McCulloch
Terri McGovern
Debbie Phelan
Peggy Robinson
Joanne Sargent
Lynne Wells
Coach : Norm Vickery
Manager: Heather Butcher (Lennie)
1972-73
Bev Barnes
Bev Bland (Preston)
Kathy Burdett (Lambert)
Jan Gee (Kainer)
Wendy Grant
Debbie Phelan
Peggy Robinson
Joanne Sargent
Liz Silcott
Laurie Watson
Vicki Williams (Jury)
Coach: Norm Vickery
Managers: Heather Butcher (Lennie)
Joanne Hinchliffe
1973-74
Nora Ballantyne (Irvine)
Bev Barnes
Kathy Burdett (Lambert)
Judi Kent (McBride)
Debbie Phelan
Carole Turney (Turney-Loos)
Liz Silcott
Penny Sinden (Morgan)
Carole Wilson
Louisa Zerbe
Coach: Ron Thorsen
Manager: Joanne Hinchliffe
1974-75
Nora Ballantyne (Irvine)
Kathy Burdett (Lambert)
Judi Kent (McBride)
Sarah Lindsay
Debbie Phelan
Rosemarie Sebellin
Tara Smith (Shantz)
Sandra Tatchell (Gibbons)
Carol Turney (Turney-Loos)
Laurie Watson
Carole Wilson
Louisa Zerbe
Coach: Sue Evans
Ass’t Coach: Debbie Phelan
Manager: Barb Chinn