TORONTO – Alex Kiss-Rusk and Vicky Tessier, both legendary All-Canadians during their playing days at McGill University, are among the final list of names to join the Top 100 women's basketball players of the century. They accompany two Canadian Olympians from McGill -- Sylvia Sweeney and Coleen Dufresne -- previously announced by U SPORTS, the national brand of the university sports in Canada.

The Top 100 was selected by a committee of U SPORTS basketball coaches and partners to mark the centennial anniversary of the first Canadian university women's contest, played in Montreal between the Queen's Gaels and McGill Martlets on Feb. 6, 1920.

"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."

Members of the Top 100 were honoured at the Final Eight national championship over the weekend in Ottawa.

ALEX KISS-RUSK PROFILE:

Kiss-Rusk guided the Martlets to five Quebec conference titles and a national championship in 2017. The 6-foot-4 All-Canadian centre from Beaconsfield, Que., who won the Gladys Bean Award as McGill's female athlete of the year in 2017-18, played pro in Germany the past two seasons. An Academic All-Canadian and member of the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll at McGill, she graduated with a bachelor's degree, majoring in psychology.

Kiss-Rusk was named as the McGill team's most valuable player for three straight years, was selected as the most outstanding defensive player for two consecutive seasons and merited league MVP honours in her fifth year. She graduated with 838 career points and a school record 583 rebounds in 64 regular season contests, averaging 13.1 and 9.1 per game, respectively. She also registered 121 career blocks for an average 1.9 per game.

Kiss-Rusk has had extensive international experience, including a number of stints with the Canadian senior team at the 2019 PanAm Games in Peru, the 2018 Four Nations U-24 tournament in Tokyo, Japan, the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, the 2018 FISU Summer Games in Taiwan a 2017 exhibition tournament in China, the World Francophone Games in Abidjan.

VICKY TESSIER PROFILE:

Tessier was born September 21, 1972 in Chateauguay, Que., and graduated from McGill with a science degree in 1997. A five-time all-conference forward and five-time league MVP from 1992 to 1997, she started her career by winning CIAU rookie of the year honours and went on to become the first basketball player in the country to earn All-Canadian honours five times. She capped a stellar career by being the first McGill player to capture the Nann Copp award as Canadian university player of the year (1996-97). A double-winner of the Gladys Bean trophy as McGill female athlete of the year, she graduated as the school's all-time scoring leader with 2,564 points in 139 career contests for an average of 18.4 points per game.

Tessier led the Quebec conference in scoring five times and in rebounding on four occasions. She earned All-Canadian honours three times on the first team and twice more on the second squad. Tessier also bounced back from serious knee surgery in 1995 to receive the University's Mac Teskey Award, for courage, morale and inspiration to others. She was inducted to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

SYLVIA SWEENEY PROFILE:

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

Name	School	Playing Years
1930-1980 ERA
Ruth Wilson	UBC	1937-41
Nora McDermott	UBC	1945-49
Patricia Lawson	Saskatchewan	1947-50
Arlene McGinn	Saskatchewan	1950-54
Mary MacDonald	Toronto	1951-53
Linda Winter-Barrett	Memorial	1956-58
Darlene Currie	Calgary	1956-58
		1967-68
Anne Mosher-MacVicar	Acadia	1957-61
Barb Robertson	UBC	1959-64
Marg Curry	Saskatchewan	1964-68
Sandra Barr	UNB	1964-68
Mary Coutts	Victoria	1965-67
Pauline Genzick	UBC	1966-69
Betty Ross	UBC	1966-71
Joanne Sargent	UBC	1968-73
Terri McGovern	UBC	1969-72
Bev Barnes	UBC	1971-74
Joyce Douthwright-Slipp	UNB	1971-74
Debbie Phelan	UBC	1971-75
Kathy Williams-Shields	Laurentian	1971-76
Angie Johnson	Winnipeg	1971-77
Coleen Dufresne	Ottawa, McGill	1971-80
Liz Silcott	Concordia, Waterloo, UBC	1972-79
Sylvia Sweeney	McGill, Concordia, Laurentian	1973-79
Carol Turney-Loos	Saint Mary's, Victoria, UBC	1973-80
Chris Critelli	Winnipeg, Laurentian	1974-78
Deb Huband	Bishop's	1976-80
1981-1990 ERA
Janis Paskevich-MacDonald	Calgary	1977-82
Luanne Hebb Krawetz	Victoria	1977-82
Candi Clarkson-Lohr	Guelph, Brock	1977-84
Anna Pendergast-Stammberger	Dalhousie	1978-83
Tracie McAra-Sibbald	Victoria	1978-83
Andrea Blackwell	Bishop's	1979-84
Lynn Polson	Bishop's	1980-84
Patricia Melville	Toronto	1980-86
Sandy Espeseth	Victoria	1981-88
Angela Orton	Toronto	1982-86
Beth Cochran	Winnipeg	1982-87
Karla Karch	Calgary, Victoria	1982-88
Carol Hamilton	Laurentian	1984-87
Lori Clarke	Victoria	1984-87
Janet Fowler	Victoria	1984-87
Mary-Ann Kowal	Toronto	1984-89
Kathy MacCormack-Spurr	Dalhousie	1985-89
Veronica VanderSchee	Calgary	1985-90
1991-2000 ERA
Kelly Boucher	Calgary, Victoria	1985-91
Cynthia Johnston	Bishop's	1986-91
Jodi Evans	Calgary	1986-91
Shawna Molcak-Kolaczek	Lethbridge	1986-91
Kim Bertholet	Manitoba	1986-91
Jackie Moore	Regina	1986-91
Andrea Hlady	Lethbridge	1987-93
Denise Scott	Toronto	1988-93
Dianne Norman	Laurentian	1989-95
Susan Stewart	Laurentian	1989-95
Sandra Carroll	Winnipeg	1991-95
Michele Vesprini	Western	1991-96
Theresa MacCuish	StFX	1991-97
Justine Ellison-Sharp	Toronto	1992-96
Vicky Tessier	McGill	1992-97
Terri-Lee Johannesson	Manitoba	1993-97
Lisa Koop	Victoria	1993-98
Stephanie Harrison	Laurentian	1995-00
Jessica Mills	UBC	1995-00
Jackie Simon	Alberta	1995-00
Caroll-Ann Tull	Concordia	1996-99
2001-2010 ERA
Anne Smith	Manitoba	1995-01
Leighann Doan	Calgary	1996-01
Corrin Wersta	Regina	1996-01
Erin Soroko-Drazic	Winnipeg	1996-01
Isabelle Grenier	Laval	1998-03
Cymone Bouchard-Bernauer	Regina	1994-04
Teresa Kleindienst-Gabriele	Simon Fraser	2000-02
Jessica Kaczowka	Simon Fraser	2000-03
Jenine Browne-MacFadden	Memorial	2000-05
JoAnne Wells	Winnipeg	2000-05
Sarah Crooks	Saskatchewan	2002-07
Cassandra Carpenter	Laurentian	2003-08
Lani Gibbons	Simon Fraser	2003-08
Katherine Quackenbush-Morrow	Memorial	2005-08
Kelsey Hodgson	Cape Breton	2005-10
Lindsay Degroot	McMaster, Saskatchewan	2005-10
Robyn Buna	Simon Fraser	2006-10
2011-2020 ERA
Marie-Michelle Genois	Laval	2006-11
Kayla Dykstra	Victoria	2006-11
Hannah Sunley-Paisley	Ottawa	2007-12
Justine Colley	Saint Mary's	2009-14
Jessica Clemencon	Windsor	2009-14
Miah-Marie Langlois	Windsor	2009-14
Kristjana Young	UBC	2010-15
Korissa Williams	Windsor	2010-15
Keneca Pingue-Giles	Ryerson	2011-16
Danielle Boiago	McMaster	2012-17
Jylisa Williams	Lakehead	2013-15
Alison Keough	Cape Breton	2013-18
Alex Kiss-Rusk	McGill	2013-18
Antoinette Miller	Saskatchewan, Winnipeg	2013-18
Paloma Anderson	Acadia	2014-18
Sarah-Jane Marois	Laval	2014-19
Jenna Mae Ellsworth	UPEI	2016-Present