KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Former Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball student-athlete and Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Gail Goestenkors was recently inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 13th.
Goestenkors was a member of the Saginaw Valley State women's basketball team from 1981-85. She was selected as an NAIA All-American in 1984 and 85 and was also named the Conference MVP in the 1985 season. She played in 126 career games as a Cardinal, scoring 1,158 points while recording 469 assists and 348 steals in her career. Goestenkors was also a member of the Academic All-Conference Team. The team's record during her playing tenure was an outstanding 114-13, highlighted by an NAIA National runner-up finish in 1984-85, as well as a third-place finish in 1983-84.
Gail was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach, compiling a record of 498-163 (.753) in her stints at Duke University and the University of Texas. She ranks ninth among all-time Division I coaches in winning percentage. Goestenkors guided her teams to 18 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, 13 of those at Duke and five at Texas. She led her squads to a pair of national championship game appearances as well. The seven-time ACC "Coach of the Year" compiled seven consecutive 30-win seasons, spanning from 2000-2007. That 2007 season she was named the WBCA "Coach of the Year" and the Naismith "Coach of the Year" as well. Goestenkors was also named the 2005 USA Basketball "Coach of the Year," as she guided the USA U19 team to the gold medal at the 2005 World Championships. She served as an assistant coach for the USA National Team as well, helping lead the team to gold medals in 2004 and 2008.
Goestenkors, an SVSU Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2010 Inductee, will also be entering the SVSU Hall of Fame as a member of that same 1984-85 team that finished national runners-up. She was introduced at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Banquet by former Head Coach Marsha Reall, who is herself an SVSU Hall of Famer (2013) and head coach of the 1984-85 national runner-up team. That class will officially be inducted on Friday, September 18th at the annual Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet.
Click here for photos from the event
