Women's Basketball | 3/11/2020 11:21:00 AM

TORONTO – Four of the all-time great Bishop's Gaiters earned yet another honour as Debbie Huband, Andrea Blackwell, Lynn Polson and Cynthia Johnston were selected as part of the U SPORTS Top 100 women's basketball players of all time earlier this year.  The announcement came as part of the centennial celebration of women's university basketball in Canada.
 
All four members have been inducted into the Bishop's University Athletic Wall of Distinction.
 
Debbie Huband
Debbie was the cornerstone of the highly successful Lady Gaiters' basketball programme of the late 70's and early 80's. Debbie captained the women's basketball team to three consecutive QUAA titles from 1977-80. She was chosen to the CIAU All-Canadian team twice and was also the Bishop's Female Athlete of the Year three times.
 
Upon graduation Debbie continued a stellar ten-year stint as a member of Canada's National Women's Basketball Team that she captained from 1979 to 1986. In 1995 she was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Basketball Hall of Fame. Debbie is currently the head women's basketball coach at the University of British Columbia.
 
Andrea Blackwell
Andrea is one of the greatest athletes to ever represent Bishop's University. From 1979 to 1984, Andrea played on two National Championships teams as well as five Quebec conference champions. Andrea was a QUAA league all-star four times while achieving CIAU All-Canadian status a remarkable three times. During the '83-84 season, Andrea was awarded the prestigious Nan Copp Trophy given annually to the most outstanding player in the country. Beyond this, Andrea was also chosen as the Bishop's University Female Athlete of the Year on two occasions as well as being selected team MVP three times.
 
However, her basketball honours do not end there. Andrea enjoyed a record 17-year career as a player for the Canadian National Women's team that included two Olympic Games (Los Angeles '84, Atlanta '96). Her basketball prowess ultimately led to a professional career in Italy, Belgium, and Greece.
 
From 1984-91, Andrea was the Head Coach of the Lady Gaiters leading the team to three National Championship appearances and two QUAA conference titles. For her efforts Andrea was awarded conference Coach of the Year in 1991.
 
Lynn Polson
Lynn made her mark not only as an outstanding university basketball player but was also a cornerstone of the Canadian National Team programme for eight years. Her extensive internal experience included having participated in two World Championships and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
 
She was one of the most exciting players to ever don a Bishop's uniform as she led the Gaiters to four league championships and two Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union titles in her illustrious four-year career. Arriving on campus in 1980, Lynn earned a starting spot right away on a Gaiter team that finished second in the country.
 
Lynn was chosen to the Quebec University all star team on four occasions and had the honor of being selected All Canadian three years in a row. Lynn finished her university career guiding the team to two consecutive National Championships and was chosen co-MVP of the Nationals in 1983.
 
Lynn's career with the Canadian National Team was equally impressive. She was a key member of the '84 Olympic team that finished fourth and was the co-captain and starting point guard for the '86 team that won the bronze medal at the Moscow World Championships.
 
Cynthia Johnston
Arguably the greatest female athlete in the history of Bishop's University, Cynthia Johnston was a four-time Bishop's University Female Athlete of the Year from 1988 to 1991. The basketball star was also a three-time CIAU all-Canadian, five-time conference all-star and two-time conference Most Valuable Player. In 1990 and 1991 she helped the Gaiters win the QUBL Championship.
 
For nine years following graduation she played semi-professionally in Belgium, Switzerland and Germany and professionally in Spain. She was a member of the Canadian National program for 14 years and in 1996 she was selected to the Canadian Olympic team and competed at the Atlanta games.
 
In Belgium in the early 90's while playing, Cynthia also coached a number of teams.
 
She was also an outstanding athlete off the court, excelling in track and field and field hockey as all well as being a provincial level tennis player in her youth.
 
The complete U SPORTS Release is here.
 
Stay up-to-date with everything Bishop's Gaiters at www.gaiters.ca or on social media by using @BishopsGaiters.
 
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