University of British Columbia Athletics

Carol Turney launched her impressive Canadian university career in 1973 at UBC playing for the "Thunderettes' in 1973/74 and 74/75. She led UBC to the CIAU (CIS) women's Canadian national basketball title in '74 and to the Canada West championship and national final in '75. At the same time Carol became one of the very few UBC players ever to be twice named a Canada West first team All-Star – and she played at UBC for only those two years! Her UBC coach Sue Evans in 1974 exclaimed "She is a better player than most of the men. In every skill of the game she transcends everyone else on the floor." The coach's assessments were validated as in the very next game Turney broke a UBC single game scoring record that stood for 52 years by scoring 37 points in a 96-28 UBC victory over Calgary.

Turney's "every skill of the game" included both scoring and rebounding. Not only did she win the 1974/75 Canada West scoring championship but after almost four decades she still holds three UBC scoring records including a season's best points per game average of 21.1. As a rebounder, in 74/75, she averaged close to 12 rebounds per game placing her among the best rebounders in UBC history.

While at UBC Turney was among the select group of players to play for Canada's National team, a team she played for since age 16 and an experience that was highlighted in 1976 by her opportunity to play on Canada's first women's Olympic basketball team. She is one of only five UBC women to play basketball for Canada at the Olympics. Her UBC career culminated in her being presented the Marilyn Pomfret Award as UBC's 1974/75 Female Athlete of the Year.

As it happened the National team in preparation for the '76 Olympics was centralized – all players including Carol were stationed in one location – Atlantic Canada. The Chilliwack native elected to stay and attend school at St. Mary's in Halifax, for whom she was a star. She set two CIAU records that year ('76/77) including most points in one game – 50 – a record she shares with current UBC coach Deb Huband. Deb equaled this mark in 1979/80. It was here Carol met local player Bill Loos, the two were married and the next year moved to Victoria to continue their careers at University of Victoria. At Victoria as Carol Turney-Loos, she in 1979/80 was the first winner of the Nan Copp Award as the country's outstanding player of the year plus was named MVP of the 1980 CIAU championship tournament won by her Victoria team. During her university career Carol would play in four CIAU national championship finals, two with UBC winning one and two with University of Victoria winning one.

It was UBC's coach Huband who succeeded Turney in 1979 as Canada's National team's starting point guard, Turney having left the team at this time for family reasons. Although Turney's reputation as a player was known across the land, Huband feels that if she had stayed on with the National team through the team's successful run of the 1980s, she would have been even more highly recognized. "She is definitely one of the most outstanding players in my time" states Huband.

Recommended by UBC Hall of Famer and former Olympic team-mate Joanne Sargent, Turney's five years in the CIAU started with her two at UBC followed by one at St. Mary's and two at Victoria. A decade on the National team, arguably UBC's all-time dominant scorer plus among the top three rebounders in school history, Turney in only two years was instrumental in bringing two Canada West and one Canadian championship to the Point Grey campus.

Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian