Nancy Lynn Dunkle (born January 10, 1955) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who competed in the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

. She played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for Cal State Fullerton before going on to play professionally in the

Women's Professional Basketball League The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional w ...

, the first women's pro basketball league in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Dunkle was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

in 2000.

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. In 1975 Dunkle played for the USA team in the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

held in

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. 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. Dunkle earned a spot on the USA National team, which competed in the 1975 World Championships held in

Cali, Colombia Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

. 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. Dunkle continued with the National team to the 1976 Olympics, held in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, 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.

Cal State Fullerton statistics

Source

References

External links

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunkle, Nancy 1955 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Maryland Cal State Fullerton Titans women's basketball players Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in basketball Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade Summer World University Games medalists in basketball FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Basketball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Cal State Fullerton Titans women's basketball coaches United States women's national basketball team players Women's Professional Basketball League coaches Women's Professional Basketball League players 20th-century American sportswomen