Indiana University Athletics
The Original Eras of IU Women's Basketball Greatness
3/26/2021 11:51:00 AM | Women's Basketball
As Indiana women's basketball enjoys one of its most decorated seasons in program history, its successes rekindle memories of the original eras of greatness for the program.
The first era came in the early 1970s, at a time when women's intercollegiate athletics was beginning to transition from Indiana University's Department of Physical Education for Women to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Underfunded and often overlooked, Indiana women's basketball enjoyed a run of sustained success that wouldn't be rivaled again until Teri Moren's arrival more than 40 years later.
From 1972-75, Indiana women's basketball compiled a 62-15 record under the leadership of Coach Bea Gorton. Each of those first three seasons concluded with an invitation to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women's 16-team National Championship tournament. Gorton's teams advanced to the Elite Eight in both 1972 and 1974, and went a step further in 1973 when it reached the AIAW's Final Four.
While the AIAW might not be a known entity to sports fans today, at the time, it was the national governing body for women's intercollegiate athletics. It wasn't until the early 1980s that the NCAA began sponsoring championship events for women's sports, a move that quickly led to the demise of the AIAW.
The AIAW might now be relegated to the history books, at the time, it was the measuring stick for women's intercollegiate athletics on the national level.
"After becoming a varsity sport in 1971, our women's basketball program immediately set a very high bar of success that we have been trying to match for nearly 50 years," said IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson. "We're very excited for not only the success that we have enjoyed since Teri arrived in Bloomington, but also how her teams' successes have shined a light on some of the great teams and players from our program's past."
Those teams from the 1970s included not only outstanding players who helped the newly-anointed varsity sport compete on a national level from day one, but also individuals who went on to be important in the future success of women's college basketball at IU and nationally. Tara Vanderveer, the winningest coach in the history of the sport, starred on those Hoosier teams from 1972-75. She has since gone on to win more than 1,100 games in her coaching career while also leading Stanford to a pair of national championships. Another member of that 1973 Final Four team was Jorja Hoehn, who spent three years as the IU program's head coach from 1986-88 before moving on to UC-Davis, where she guided the team to six conference titles and five Sweet 16s in 11 seasons.
This era of greatness is recognized by IU Athletics in numerous ways. Debbie Oing, who averaged 17.6 points on the 1974 Elite Eight team and 22.0 points/game in 1975, was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Vanderveer (1995) and Gorton (2014) are also members of the IU Athletics Hall of Fame, and IU Athletics unveiled a banner in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in 2014 to recognize the 1973 team's Final Four berth.
Another memorable moment in IU women's basketball history came shortly after the NCAA began sponsoring championships for women's sports in 1982. A year later, the Hoosiers put together one of the more improbable runs to a Big Ten Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
Coach Maryalyce Jeremiah's Hoosier teams had combined to win 38 games in the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons, but the 1982-83 season didn't start out as planned. The Hoosiers dropped their first three and six out of their first eight. When they lost their Big Ten opener by 16 at Ohio State, they stood 3-7 overall. But led by first-team All-Big Ten player Denise Jackson, the Hoosiers proceeded to win 14 of their next 15 to climb to the top of the league standings. A late road loss at Illinois squandered a chance to secure the league title and set the stage for a season-ending match-up against Ohio State, with the Big Ten title and the league's only NCAA bid on the line.
In a reversal of the two team's first encounter in Columbus, the Hoosiers came away with a 62-56 win to tie the Buckeyes for the league title. The 18-10 Hoosiers were awarded the Big Ten's automatic berth into the 36-team NCAA Tournament field. In the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament, Indiana defeated Kentucky, 87-76, to advance to the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual Final Four participant Georgia.
As is the case with the teams from the early 1970s, the 1983 team is well recognized and celebrated by IU Athletics. Jackson – still No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, on the program's all-time scoring and rebounding list - was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010. Her teammate Rachelle Bostic, meanwhile, was named to the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. Bostic ranks seventh and sixth, respectively, on IU's all-time scoring and rebounding charts.
As Moren's Hoosiers prepare for Saturday's showdown against N.C. State in the Sweet Sixteen with the chance to further cement this team's status among the program's all-time best, it's important to once again remember some of the players, and the teams, that helped pave the way for this team's success.
The first era came in the early 1970s, at a time when women's intercollegiate athletics was beginning to transition from Indiana University's Department of Physical Education for Women to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Underfunded and often overlooked, Indiana women's basketball enjoyed a run of sustained success that wouldn't be rivaled again until Teri Moren's arrival more than 40 years later.
From 1972-75, Indiana women's basketball compiled a 62-15 record under the leadership of Coach Bea Gorton. Each of those first three seasons concluded with an invitation to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women's 16-team National Championship tournament. Gorton's teams advanced to the Elite Eight in both 1972 and 1974, and went a step further in 1973 when it reached the AIAW's Final Four.While the AIAW might not be a known entity to sports fans today, at the time, it was the national governing body for women's intercollegiate athletics. It wasn't until the early 1980s that the NCAA began sponsoring championship events for women's sports, a move that quickly led to the demise of the AIAW.
The AIAW might now be relegated to the history books, at the time, it was the measuring stick for women's intercollegiate athletics on the national level.
"After becoming a varsity sport in 1971, our women's basketball program immediately set a very high bar of success that we have been trying to match for nearly 50 years," said IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson. "We're very excited for not only the success that we have enjoyed since Teri arrived in Bloomington, but also how her teams' successes have shined a light on some of the great teams and players from our program's past."
Those teams from the 1970s included not only outstanding players who helped the newly-anointed varsity sport compete on a national level from day one, but also individuals who went on to be important in the future success of women's college basketball at IU and nationally. Tara Vanderveer, the winningest coach in the history of the sport, starred on those Hoosier teams from 1972-75. She has since gone on to win more than 1,100 games in her coaching career while also leading Stanford to a pair of national championships. Another member of that 1973 Final Four team was Jorja Hoehn, who spent three years as the IU program's head coach from 1986-88 before moving on to UC-Davis, where she guided the team to six conference titles and five Sweet 16s in 11 seasons.
This era of greatness is recognized by IU Athletics in numerous ways. Debbie Oing, who averaged 17.6 points on the 1974 Elite Eight team and 22.0 points/game in 1975, was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Vanderveer (1995) and Gorton (2014) are also members of the IU Athletics Hall of Fame, and IU Athletics unveiled a banner in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in 2014 to recognize the 1973 team's Final Four berth.
Another memorable moment in IU women's basketball history came shortly after the NCAA began sponsoring championships for women's sports in 1982. A year later, the Hoosiers put together one of the more improbable runs to a Big Ten Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.Coach Maryalyce Jeremiah's Hoosier teams had combined to win 38 games in the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons, but the 1982-83 season didn't start out as planned. The Hoosiers dropped their first three and six out of their first eight. When they lost their Big Ten opener by 16 at Ohio State, they stood 3-7 overall. But led by first-team All-Big Ten player Denise Jackson, the Hoosiers proceeded to win 14 of their next 15 to climb to the top of the league standings. A late road loss at Illinois squandered a chance to secure the league title and set the stage for a season-ending match-up against Ohio State, with the Big Ten title and the league's only NCAA bid on the line.
In a reversal of the two team's first encounter in Columbus, the Hoosiers came away with a 62-56 win to tie the Buckeyes for the league title. The 18-10 Hoosiers were awarded the Big Ten's automatic berth into the 36-team NCAA Tournament field. In the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament, Indiana defeated Kentucky, 87-76, to advance to the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual Final Four participant Georgia.
As is the case with the teams from the early 1970s, the 1983 team is well recognized and celebrated by IU Athletics. Jackson – still No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, on the program's all-time scoring and rebounding list - was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010. Her teammate Rachelle Bostic, meanwhile, was named to the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. Bostic ranks seventh and sixth, respectively, on IU's all-time scoring and rebounding charts.
As Moren's Hoosiers prepare for Saturday's showdown against N.C. State in the Sweet Sixteen with the chance to further cement this team's status among the program's all-time best, it's important to once again remember some of the players, and the teams, that helped pave the way for this team's success.
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