Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame
1987-88 Lady Griz
- Induction:
- 2025
- Class:
- 1988
At the time of thier induction, the 1987-88 Lady Griz team was the winningest team in program history with an overall record of 28-2 and a 15-1 record in Big Sky play in a season that saw UM log several impressive wins to set the standard for Lady Griz success for decades to come.
The team set a then school record by winning their first 26 games before losing 58-56 narrowly at Montana State. The only other loss that season was 74-72 to Stanford in double overtime in an NCAA tournament game in Missoula, which sent the Cardinal to the Sweet 16. That Stanford team was coached by Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer and was led by a corps of sophomores that later went on to win the 1990 National Championship.
The '87-'88 Lady Griz logged regular season wins over Oregon, Washington State, Creighton, Washington, Wyoming, Gonzaga, and Utah that year, and is credited with being a catalyst to the rise in popularity of the Lady Griz program.
Past Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame inductees on the roster include Missoula native Marti Leibenguth, who scored 499 points that season to compliment 284 rebounds as a first-team All-Mountain West pick, Mountain West Tournament MVP, and the team's Most Valuable Player. Also on the squad was Lisa (McLeod) Tinkle of Great Falls who was a Kodak All-District VII pick and a First-team All-Mountain West selection, as well as the team's Outstanding Defensive Player. Jean McNulty-King was also a redshirt on the squad that season.
The 1987-88 Lady Griz were coached by Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer Robin Selvig.
Quoting Coach Selvig: "They were a great bunch of players, I'm proud of them, and I'm glad they're getting recognized. They were nationally competitive, they were record setters and were competitive in the NCAA Tournament. We've had a lot of great teams but to have a run of that many wins in a row makes for a lot of great memories. They played hard, they played together, they got along, and we also had a lot of kids contribute. When you win 28 games, that takes a pretty good team. They sure were a lot of fun.
"That team also helped promote the whole program because of that game (against Stanford), and the interest and excitement of women's basketball and Lady Griz basketball just kept growing and growing because of them."
The team set a then school record by winning their first 26 games before losing 58-56 narrowly at Montana State. The only other loss that season was 74-72 to Stanford in double overtime in an NCAA tournament game in Missoula, which sent the Cardinal to the Sweet 16. That Stanford team was coached by Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer and was led by a corps of sophomores that later went on to win the 1990 National Championship.
The '87-'88 Lady Griz logged regular season wins over Oregon, Washington State, Creighton, Washington, Wyoming, Gonzaga, and Utah that year, and is credited with being a catalyst to the rise in popularity of the Lady Griz program.
Past Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame inductees on the roster include Missoula native Marti Leibenguth, who scored 499 points that season to compliment 284 rebounds as a first-team All-Mountain West pick, Mountain West Tournament MVP, and the team's Most Valuable Player. Also on the squad was Lisa (McLeod) Tinkle of Great Falls who was a Kodak All-District VII pick and a First-team All-Mountain West selection, as well as the team's Outstanding Defensive Player. Jean McNulty-King was also a redshirt on the squad that season.
The 1987-88 Lady Griz were coached by Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer Robin Selvig.
Quoting Coach Selvig: "They were a great bunch of players, I'm proud of them, and I'm glad they're getting recognized. They were nationally competitive, they were record setters and were competitive in the NCAA Tournament. We've had a lot of great teams but to have a run of that many wins in a row makes for a lot of great memories. They played hard, they played together, they got along, and we also had a lot of kids contribute. When you win 28 games, that takes a pretty good team. They sure were a lot of fun.
"That team also helped promote the whole program because of that game (against Stanford), and the interest and excitement of women's basketball and Lady Griz basketball just kept growing and growing because of them."
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