Women's Basketball | January 23, 2020

March 15, 1989 is a date that will be forever be etched into the La Salle women's basketball record books. Down by as many as 16 points in the first half of the NCAA East Regional game against Geno Auriemma and the eighth-seeded UConn Huskies, the ninth-seeded La Salle women's basketball team mounted a second half comeback to claim the program's first-ever NCAA victory. The Explorers handed the Huskies' head man one of his two NCAA opening round losses. La Salle missed out on the MAAC's automatic bid as it fell to Holy Cross in the conference championship game, but claimed the only at-large bid the team has ever seen.
 
"It was very exciting for our team," said Sheila (Wall) Leonardo on the team's at-large bid. "We worked so hard all year long. It was really painful to take a loss at that time, but getting that bid was really special."
 
With the double-digit scoring trio of Jennifer Snyder (17 points), Sheila Wall (16 points), and Tracey Sneed (15 points, 10 rebounds), the Explorers advanced to the second round to face #1 Tennessee and the legendary Pat Summitt.
 
Despite coming up short against the eventual national champions, the 88-89 season has gone down as one of the best in program history. Under the direction of head coach John Miller, the Explorers claimed the Big 5 title outright for the first time in school history and MAAC Regular Season title. After it was all said and done, the team posted a program record 28 wins, including an program record 14 game win streak. La Salle excelled as high as 18^th in the nation in the AP Top 25 poll.
 
"What made our season so memorable to me was the fact that no one expected it," Tracey (Sneed) Lewis said. "We were underdogs from the start. The beautiful thing about being an underdog is you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If you lose, everyone expected it. If you win, well, you make history. I learned many lessons from our season that have helped me in my legal career."
 
On top of the team success, Sneed earned First Team All-Conference, while Kelly Greenberg and Wall were named to the second team. Topping off the awards, Miller was named MAAC Coach of the Year. It was a special team.
 
"Our four years were so special," Greenberg said. "I say it was special because we were able to take something from each of the senior classes that we played under."
 
For Greenberg, Sneed, Mary Greybush, and then assistant coach, Cheryl Reeve, joining the Hall of Athletes is nothing new. All four have been inducted as individuals, including Greenberg and Reeve over the past few years. The Explorers' roster was also bolstered with three Big 5 Hall of Famers in Greenberg, Greybush, and Sneed.
 
"It feels wonderful," Greenberg said about enjoying the induction with her teammates. "There's some of my teammates that I haven't seen in 20 years and others that I speak to weekly, so being able to do this as a team is really special."
 
Saturday is set to be a special day for this special team.