TORONTO – Sylvia Sweeney and Coleen Dufresne, two Canadian Olympians who played at McGill University, are among the Top 100 women's basketball players of the century. The first group of the Top 100 was revealed on Thursday by U SPORTS, the national brand of the university sports in Canada, to mark the 100th anniversary of the first Canadian university women's contest, played in Montreal between the Queen's Gaels and McGill Martlets on Feb. 6, 1920.

In celebration of the centennial, segments of the Top 100 – chosen by a committee of U SPORTS women's basketball coaches and partners – will be unveiled every Thursday, leading up to the Final Eight national basketball championships in Ottawa. Kicking off the campaign this week are players who competed from 1930 to 1980 have been announced, with players from the following four decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s) to be revealed over the course of the next four weeks.

"Selecting a group of individuals to represent excellence in your conference or league is always a difficult task," said Ryan Thorne, president of the U SPORTS women's basketball coaches' association and head coach of the Martlets. "This experience has shown me that there have been some amazing young women, who have represented our institutions well through basketball that have gone on to become remarkable women in life. Just researching the stories and receiving the feedback from coaches of different eras, was eye opening. I am grateful to have been a part of this process and hope that the next century is just as fruitful."

In addition, special features highlighting the incredible careers of select players will also be posted to the USPORTS.ca website. The campaign culminates with the announcement of the 2020 Nan Copp trophy to the player of the year at the All-Canadian gala on Mar. 4.

Members of the Top 100 will then be honoured at the Final 8 during the national championship final, hosted jointly by Carleton University, University of Ottawa and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group.

SYLVIA SWEENEY PROFILE:

Sweeney, a two-time Olympian who served as national team captain from 1979-84, was inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. She represented Canada at both the 1976 and 1984 Olympics.  Canada's fourth place finish at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles remains the highest in program history at the Olympics.

Sweeney was born in Montreal and educated at West Hill high school, before an extensive university career at McGill (1973-75), Concordia (1976-77), Sherbrooke (1977-78) and Laurentian (1978-79). A niece of the late Canadian jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson, Sweeney studied music at McGill, where she played varsity hoops for the Martlets and averaged a stellar 22.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game average while leading the team to a 22-6 overall record during the 1973-74 season.

After playing for Canada at the first Olympic women's basketball tournament at the 1976 Montreal Summer Games, she continued her university playing career for one season at Concordia and another at Laurentian, where she helped the Lady Vees win their fifth consecutive national championship. 
 
In her honour, U SPORTS recognizes one women's basketball player annually with the Sylvia Sweeney Award for community service and outstanding contribution, both on and off the court.
 
At the 1979 FIBA world championship, Sweeney led Canada to their first bronze medal and was voted most valuable player.  She also served as Canadian flag bearer at the 1979 Pan American Games in Mexico. Sweeney was also one of six members of the Toronto Raptors Foundation first board of directors. She was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2018.

COLEEN DUFRESNE PROFILE:

Dufresne was a graduate of the University of Ottawa who went on to further her education at McGill and at UNB. With the Martlets, she was named Team MVP in 1979-80 after scoring a single-season school record 681 points, with a 17.9 points-per-game average while leading the team to a 28-10 record overall.

A national team player who represented Canada at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, she then embarked on a highly successful coaching career, first at UNB, where she won U SPORTS coach of the year in 1982-83. A native of Halifax, who is also bilingual, she was raised in Dorion, Que., and her international experience patrolling the sidelines includes the World Championships and Pan American Games in 1999 where Canada won a silver medal.
 
She started coaching at UNB in 1980 and moved to Manitoba in 1984, starting a stretch of 17 years as the Bisons women's basketball head coach, including three national championships in 1988, 1996 and 1997. Dufresne also led Manitoba to a pair of silvers (1995, 1998) and two bronzes (1987, 1994) while having Manitoba at nationals in nine of 17 seasons and making the playoffs each year.

Dufresne has held numerous leadership positions at the national and conference level, including a number of roles on the U SPORTS board of directors and a two-year term as Canada West conference president from 2005 to 2007. As an International University Sports Federation (FISU) delegate on the International Control Committee starting in 2002, she has served in an official capacity at the FISU world university game five times in addition to a pair of World University Championships. On Nov. 17, 2005, Dufresne was elected to the FISU Executive Committee and is only the second Canadian to sit on this prestigious board.

After three decades of service to the Manitoba Bisons, including 15 years as an athletic director, Dufresne entered the Canada West Hall of Fame in 2019. Other accolades and accomplishments include being inducted into the Basketball Manitoba Hall of Fame as builder (2015), team-coach (2011, 2005) and team-player (2003). She was the recipient of YMCA/YWCA "Women of Distinction" Award in the category of Recreation, Sport & Active Living in 2005.
 

Top 100 U SPORTS Women's Basketball Players of the Century