Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1988
- Class:
- 1975
On Dec. 9, 1978, at The MECCA Arena in Milwaukee, Wisc., the first U.S. professional women’s basketball game was played between the Milwaukee Does and the Chicago Hustle of the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL). The starting point guard for the home team was Marshall University alumna Brenda Dennis. Twenty-six seconds into that historic game, Dennis was credited with the assist as Joanie Smith scored the first points in women’s pro basketball history.
One of the first and brightest stars when women’s sports rose to intercollegiate competition at Marshall, Brenda Dennis led the basketball and volleyball teams to immediate success. Coach Donna Lawson’s “Green Gals” played a total of just 21 basketball games against area teams in their first two seasons of intercollegiate competition, then filled a schedule of regional teams for the 1971-72 season – and dominated the opposition. With Dennis, a 5-foot-7 freshman from Louisville, Ky., leading the way, Marshall won its first 20 games of the season, including the championship of the inaugural West Virginia State Tournament. Marshall garnered a berth in the Midwest AIAW Tournament and finished the year with a 21-1 record. Dennis led the team in scoring the next three seasons, during which the Green Gals again won the state tournament title her junior and senior seasons and advanced to the Midwest AIAW Tournament each year.
Dennis also starred for the Marshall volleyball team, which won the state volleyball title each year of her career, and also advanced three seasons to the Midwest AIAW championships. Dennis received a tryout with Team USA for the World University Games, and after graduating from Marshall and getting a job, quit that job to pursue her dream to play professional basketball. Dennis was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.
