Brandon University Dick and Verda McDonald Sports Wall of Fame
The 1980-81 Bobcat Women's Basketball Team set the bar high and nearly achieved their ultimate goal of reaching the national championship tournament.
BU cracked the national top-10 rankings and posted a 12-and-4 record to finish in second-place in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
1980-81 was the pinnacle of a building process for the Bobcats after the team went winless in 1978-79, followed by a 9-and-7 mark in 79-80.
Brandon narrowly missed a chance to go to nationals after a runner-up finish to their arch-rival, the Winnipeg Wesmen in the best-of-three GPAC Final.
After losing the opening game 64-61, the Bobcats kept their title hopes alive with a clutch 54-51 win in Game 2. Janet Lumsden scored back-to-back late baskets to seal the victory for BU.
In the third and deciding game, Brandon dropped a hard-fought 61-59 decision against the Wesmen. Linda Edwards and Lumsden both recorded 17 points for BU.
Lumsden was named a GPAC first-team all-star, a second-team all-Canadian and BU's Female Athlete of the Year after leading the conference in scoring as a rookie.
Edwards was a second-team conference all-star while Chris Hogan was the team's rookie of the year.
The Bobcat roster included an international star as Claire Booker was named BU's most improved player. Booker was an import standout from the U.K. and led the league in defensive rebounds. She was a member of England's national team.
Beyond the GPAC regular season, the Bobcats found success in exhibition tournaments.
They won their own invitational tournament in mid-November after defeating the University of North Dakota in overtime 70-69 to finish a perfect 3-and-0. BU rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit to secure first-place. Edwards was named tournament MVP, while Hogan and Lumsden were named tournament all-stars.
In late January, Brandon also won two of three round-robin games to finish in second-place at an exhibition tournament in Toronto. In their final game, Lumsden scored a whopping 43 points to power the Bobcats over York 80-67.
