Nancy Dunkle

This article is about the basketball player. For the politician, see Nancy Dunkel.

Nancy Lynn Dunkle (born January 10, 1955) is an American former basketball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics.^[2] She played college basketball for Cal State Fullerton^[3] before going on to play professionally in the Women's Professional Basketball League,^[4] the first women's pro basketball league in the United States. Dunkle was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.

Nancy Lynn Dunkle^[1]

Personal information
Born	(1955-01-10) January 10, 1955 (age 69)
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Career information
College	Cal State Fullerton (1973–1977)
Position	Forward / Center
Career history
As player:
1979–1980	California Dreams
1980	San Francisco Pioneers
1980–1981	Minnesota Fillies
1981	San Francisco Pioneers
As coach:
1977–1979	Cal State Fullerton
1980	California Dreams
Career highlights and awards
As player: WBL All-Star (1980) 2× All-American (1975, 1976) 3x Kodak All-American (1975–1977)
Career WBL playing statistics
Points	756 (12.6 ppg)
Games	60
Career coaching record
WBL	5–3 (.625)
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals Olympic Games Women's basketball Representing the  United States 1976 Montreal Team competition World University Games 1973 Moscow Team Competition Pan American 1975 Mexico City Team Competition

USA Basketball

The 6'2" tall Dunkle was named to the team representing the US at the 1973 World University Games competition in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was the eighth such competition, but the first one in which the USA competed in women's basketball. The USA team had to play the Soviet Union in the opening round, and lost to the hosts, 92–43. The USA team bounced back and won their next two games. After preliminary play, the teams moved into medal rounds, where the first round loss carried over. In the medal round, the USA won their next three games, including a match against 6–0 Cuba, which the USA won 59–44. That sent them to the gold medal game, but against the host Soviet Union, now 7–0. The USSR won to capture the gold medal, while the USA finished with a silver in their first competition.^[5]

In 1975 Dunkle^[6][7] played for the USA team in the Pan American Games held in Mexico City, Mexico. The USA team had finished second in 1967 and 1971, but won all seven games at the 1975 event to capture their first gold medal since 1963.^[8]

Dunkle earned a spot on the USA National team, which competed in the 1975 World Championships held in Cali, Colombia. The USA team lost their opening round game by two points to Japan 73–71. After winning the next game, they faced Czechoslovakia who won by a single point 66–65. This sent the USA team to the consolation rounds, where they won three of four, but dropped a game to Canada 74–68. The USA finished the competition in eighth place.^[9]

Dunkle continued with the National team to the 1976 Olympics, held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After losing the opening game to Japan, the USA team beat Bulgaria, but then faced host team Canada. Dunkle was the leading scorer for the USA team with 17 points, helping the USA team defeat Canada 84–71. After losing to the USSR, the USA team needed a victory against Czechoslovakia to secure a medal. Dunkle scored 14 points, to help the team to an 83–67 win and the silver medal.^[10]

Cal State Fullerton statistics

Source^[11]

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1974	Cal State Fullerton	21	322	NA	NA	7.4	NA	15.3
1975	Cal State Fullerton	21	376	NA	NA	8.6	NA	17.9
1976	Cal State Fullerton	19	423	56.0%	51.8%	13.1	2.3	22.3
1977	Cal State Fullerton	21	438	56.8%	70.4%	8.0	2.4	20.9
Career		82	1559	52.5%	NA	9.2	NA	19.0

References

1. "Nancy Lynn DUNKLE".
2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nancy Dunkle". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
3. Bea Dambach (March 25, 1976). "Super Nancy Dunkle is still improving game". The Daily News. p. 4. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Pete Donovan (September 7, 1979). "Dreams sign Nancy Dunkle to 2-year pact". The Los Angeles Times. p. 19. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Eighth World University Games -- 1973". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
6. "Nancy Lynn DUNKLE".
7. "Games of the XXIst Olympiad -- 1976". www.usab.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
8. "Seventh Pan American Games -- 1975". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
9. "Seventh World Championship For Women -- 1975". USA Basketball. February 26, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
10. "Games of the XXIst Olympiad -- 1976". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
11. "Women's Basketball Finest" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org. Retrieved October 2, 2017.

External links

• Women's Basketball Hall of Fame