1996 West Coast Conference Champions

1996 West Coast Conference Tournament Champions

 

Co-Head Coaches: Bill Nepfel & Mary Hile-Nepfel
Overall Record: 24-8    WCC Record: 12-2
All-WCC Team: Valerie Gillon, Brittany Lindhe
Top Scorer: Valerie Gillon (16.3)    Top Rebounder:  Valerie Gillon (8.7)
USF Hall-of-Famers: Valerie Gillon, Brittany Lindhe, Jamie Shadian, Mary Hile-Nepfel

The USF Lady Dons made history during the 1995-96 season, as the team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time ever, after tournament wins over nationally ranked Florida and Duke. Their were great expectations entering the campaign as the Lady Dons returned all five starters from last year’s team that won the West Coast Conference title. USF started the season with tough back-to-back overtime losses, falling 89-84 at California and 76-75 to Wake Forest in the Copper Bowl Classic in Arizona. A short three-game winning streak followed as USF knocked off Wyoming, Fresno State and Air Force.

USF then went through a tough four game stretch that featured two games against top 20 teams going just 1-3 over those four games with losses to No. 8 Colorado and 15th ranked Texas Tech. The Lady Dons ended December with a very pedestrian 4-5 record and there was some doubt about whether they could bring back that magic from the 1994-95 season.

But as January brought along a new calendar year, the Lady Dons found that magic. They grabbed wins over Columbia, Sacramento State and 22nd ranked Texas A&M to end the non-conference slate and they were off and running. In fact, they ran off nine consecutive wins and won 13 of their next 14 games including a nine point home court win over perennial WCC power Portland.

The Lady Dons rolled through the WCC at 12-2 and then powered past Loyola Marymount (65-35), Pepperdine (59-43) and Portland (61-57) in the WCC postseason tournament to win their second straight WCC tournament championship. Britanny Lindhe paced USF with 21 points in the win over Portland.

USF advanced to the NCAA postseason tournament and flew to Durham, North Carolina for a match-up with heavily favored No. 16 Florida. However, Florida proved to be no match for USF - the Lady Dons led wire to wire for a convincing 68-61 win as Valerie Gillon threw down 28 points.

In the second round USF faced No. 13 Duke and again entered the game as an underdog. Yet despite 3,797 screaming Duke fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium the Lady Dons jumped out to an early 20-7 lead and were still up 34-25 at the half. The lead ballooned to 20 points at 59-39 with ten minutes left, but Duke made a furious rally – cutting the deficit to 59-55 with 5:03 remaining. But, the Lady Dons made several key plays down the stretch and hung on for a 64-60 win and advanced to the Sweet 16.

The eyes of the basketball world were on the Lady Dons as they travelled to Chicago to face No. 2 Connecticut. The Lady Huskies brought an end to the Lady Dons Cinderella season with a convincing 72-44 win. Gillon was the top scorer for USF over the course of the season at 16.3 points per game, with Lindhe (13.6), Andrea Kagie (9.6) and Renee Dimirdjian (7.9) all adding offensive punch. Jamie Shadian dished out 160 assists. The Lady Dons finished the season ranked No. 16 in the final USA Today/CNN coaches poll. 

Did You Know? In the NCAA tournament in Durham, North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium the Lady Dons squared up against No. 16 Florida in the first round. The Duke fans were fearful of meeting the the powerful Lady Gators in the next round, so the entire rooting section cheered on the Lady Dons. They probably figured USF would be an “easier” opponent in the second round so they screamed and yelled with every Lady Dons basket and defensive stop. USF radio play-by-play man Pat Olson was prophetic when he said on the radio, “be careful of what you wish for Duke fans.” Those same Duke fans were silent most of the second round, as USF led the entire game and handed the Lady Blue Devils their first home court loss in over five years.

They Said It: “That game against Duke was amazing. We seemed to come together on the court like clockwork. The desire to win in that game was something I’ve never felt before. That win elevated myself and my teammates to a whole new level of thought and expectations,” USF Junior forward Rene Demirdjian.