1995 West Coast Conference Champions
1995 West Coast Conference Tournament Champions
Overall Record: 24-5 WCC Record: 13-1
Co-Head Coaches: Bill Nepfel & Mary Hile-Nepfel
Overall Record: 24-5 WCC Record: 13-1
All-WCC Team: Valerie Gillon, Brittany Lindhe
Top Scorer: Valerie Gillon (15.9) Top Rebounder: Valerie Gillon (8.9)
USF Hall-of-Famers: Valerie Gillon, Brittany Lindhe, Jamie Shadian, Mary Hile-Nepfel
The 1994-95 campaign was quite a remarkable season for the USF Lady Don’s basketball team. The squad became the first women’s basketball team on the Hilltop to qualify for the postseason NCAA tournament. USF set the school record with 16 straight wins before losing is final game of the season to Arkansas in the NCAA tournament.
USF started its dream season on a sour note losing the season opener at UC Santa Barbara 74-60. The fun got underway from that point on as USF won its next six games, beginning with a 91-53 blowout over Cal Poly and ending with an 88-59 romp past San Jose State. After two close losses at the Gator Classic in Florida, the Dons got back on the winning track at home with an easy 76-51 win over a tough Fordham quintet. The Lady Dons closed out an 8-3 pre-conference with a difficult 73-68 overtime win over Sacramento State.
With high hopes heading into West Coast Conference play, the Lady Dons were shocked by the Pilots in Portland 93-62 in the league opener – suffering their worst defeat of the year. From that point on, the Lady Dons would not lose again until postseason play in March, as they rolled through the next 13 league contests with relative ease averaging 75 points per game in the process. The Dons gained revenge against Portland on February 25th 89-83 at home in overtime as Brittany Lindhe poured in 29 points.
The Lady Dons stormed through the WCC postseason tournament with three straight wins ousting Loyola Marymount 58-36, St. Mary’s 64-50 and Portland 66-50 to earn the automatic invite to the NCAA postseason tournament. The Lady Dons dream season ended in Seattle at the University of Washington as Arkansas prevailed 67-58 in front of 4,500 fans. USF led 43-35 with 15 minutes to play, but failed to hold off a furious Razorback attack.
Valerie Gillon led the offensive attack averaging just under 16 points per contest. Lindhe (15.4), Andrea Kagie (12.0), Jamie Shadian (8.1) and Renee Demirdjian (7.8) all contributed to a well rounded offensive attack.
Did You Know? Freshman guard Brittany Lindhe was named first-team all-WCC in 1994-95. It was the first of four first-team all-WCC nods for Lindhe, who became the first four-time selection in WCC history. She scored 37 points at Gonzaga on January 14th which is still the most points scored by a USF women’s player in a road game.
They Said It: “It’s good to see ex-great players like Mary give back to the game, especially in the area where they played. Mary is probably the best player ever to come from the Bay Area. Bill has such a wide coaching background – he’s done a little bit of everything that is integral to being a good coach. It’s like having two coaches rolled into one. Bill has great management and business skills, while Mary has great communication skills that help her relate to kids,” Arkansas Razorbacks Head Coach Gary Blair. The Lady Backs ended the Dons season at Seattle in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
