SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Members of the 1985-86 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion and NCAA regional runner-up Slippery Rock University women's basketball program will be honored at The Rock's Feb. 4 home game vs. Mercyhurst College, Bill Richter, SRU's athletic development officer, announced Wednesday.
The championship team will be honored during a reception sponsored by the Slippery Rock Foundation, Inc. that will be held in Morrow Field House prior to the 1 p.m. tipoff of The Rock-Mercyhurst game. The 1985-86 team will also be in the spotlight during a ceremony at halftime.
To get more information or to RSVP for the reception, please contact Richter at 724.738.2387 or wrichter@srufoundation.org.
The 1985-86 squad coached by Kathy Walton is the only team in Rock women's basketball history to capture a conference crown. The Green and White, after starting the season with a 6-4 record, also won 17 of its last 19 games to finish the season with a 23-6 record that stands as the most wins in school history.
Along the way, SRU won the PSAC-Western Division title with a 9-1 record to earn the right to host the conference tournament in Morrow Field House.
The Rock, who made their 10th consecutive trip to the PSAC playoffs, defeated West Chester by an 86-71 score in a semifinal game before they claimed a 74-58 victory over East Stroudsburg University in the championship game.
The conference championship propelled The Rock into the NCAA Division II Eastern Regional tournament, where they nipped host Pace (N.Y.), 74-72, in an opening-round game. SRU's magical season and first-ever trek into NCAA postseason competition came to an end with a 73-60 loss to top-seeded and title-game host Philadelphia Textile in the regional final.
Senior forward Diane Walker led The Rock attack that winter with a PSAC-best 23.4 points per game average. She was joined on the All-PSAC first-team by senior point guard Laurel Heilman, who averaged 10.3 points per game and handed out a team-high 98 assists.
Heilman, who served as The Rock's Head Women's Basketball Coach from 2000-10, is one of two members of the 1985-86 squad who have been inducted into the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame. A 2009 Hall of Fame inductee, Heilman is joined in the elite group by teammate Linda Derk, a member of the Hall's 2003 class.
The event recognizing the 1985-86 championship squad is the latest in a line of special events spotlighting past Rock women's basketball standouts. A year ago, Beth Danberger Snyder and Kathy Lisman Wood had their uniforms retired by the school. Kory Fielitz Rorabaugh, Jodi Gault and Jan Kasnevich were in the spotlight during the 2009-10 season.
