UMass Boston Athletics Hall of Fame
On January 25, 1982 Boston State College ceased to exist as aninstitution by an act of the Massachusetts Board of Regents forHigher Education. As a result, the 1981-82 Boston State CollegeWomen's Basketball team was playing for more than just victories onthe court, but also to make a statement to the rest of the NCAAthat the Warriors would go out in style. They certainly did that,posting the greatest season in school history for the program witha 21-6 record and its first appearance in the NCAA NationalTournament. They played the last game of any Boston State Collegeteam when they bowed out in the NCAA Regionals after ranking secondin the nation in defense, holding opponents to just 45 points pergame. Under the direction of Head Coach and former BSC player LisaCarlson, the Warriors were ranked among the Top 20 in NCAA DivisionIII all season, peaking at sixth and went on to win theirfirst-ever Massachusetts State College Athletic Conferencechampionship with a win over Salem State College to gain anautomatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Freshman center Diane Barrywas the team's tallest player at 5'9" and led the Warriors with11.5 rebounds per game to go with 8.8 points per outing and 49steals. Because of the lack of height, Boston State relied onquickness, aggressive play and different looks on offense anddefense. The Warriors employed a full-court press, got on the floorfor loose balls and utilized a fast break to take advantage oftheir overall team speed. Senior quad-captain Colleen McBride wasthe team's leading scorer with 14.1 points per game, while fellowcaptain Debbie Thompson joined her in the front court with 7.3points per contest. Sophomores Patty Suprey and Kelly O'Donnellheld down the backcourt, averaging 8.8 and 7.7 points per game,respectively. Senior quad-captain Linda Silvestri was BostonState's sixth woman, coming off the bench to put up 9.8 points pergame. Members of the team included Carlson, assistant coach SandyMatthews, Barry, Mary DiNatale, quad-captain Kelly Gamby, PaulaGately, McBride, O'Donnell, Patty Regan, Silvestri, SharonStephans, Suprey and Thompson.
