Hall of Fame
The 1986-87 Women’s Basketball team is the first team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The team became the first program in Marywood history to reach the NCAA Division III tournament. Led by Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Dempsey, the Pacers went 19-8 on the year, tying for the most wins in program history.
Led by four other future Hall of Famers (Cathy Fisher, 1999 inductee; Maria Rossi, 2000 inductee; Robin Winkler Scartelli, 2001 inductee; and Christine Grande Getz, 2002 inductee), the Pacers’ .703 win percentage that season is tied for second highest in program history.
Three of the team’s players went on to score over 1,000 points in their careers. Rossi’s 1,695 career points still ranks first of all-time. Grande Getz’s 1,283 career points ranks fourth and Kathy McHale Petkovyak ranks ninth after scoring 1,118 career points. Petkovyak also ranks third for total rebounds in a single season with 313 boards.
Head Coach Jerry Dempsey went 133-100 (.571) in 10 seasons leading the Pacers. His assistants during the 1986-87 season were John “Star” Marcinek, Bob Philbin and John Seitzinger.
The roster included Leigh Ann Evanish, Erin Fallon, Cathy Fisher, Cheryl Grady, Chris (Grande) Getz, Jamie Lupini, Kathy (McHale) Petkovyak, Kris Pick, Maria Rossi, Robin (Winkler) Scartelli, and Beth Shannon. Kathleen Graytock and Cathy Ham served as managers.
Marywood fell to The University of Scranton 62-57 in the first round, and the Royals would go on for a third-place finish in the country. Marywood lost to now-defunct Spring Garden College 70-62 in the regional third-place game held in Scranton. The Women’s Basketball team remained the only Marywood team to reach the NCAA Division III tournament for more than two decades until the Women’s Soccer program won the CSAC Championship in 2008. Since then, nine other Pacers’ teams have reached the NCAA postseason.
*Bio written at time of induction
