The 1997-98 women's basketball season was one for the ages at Mary Washington College, as a team that finished 8-15 the season before blew away its competition en route to a school-record 21 wins and a birth in the NCAA Tournament for the second time ever. Led by All-America and 1,000 point scorer senior forward Lindsay Stover (team-leading 16.7 PPG, 8.4 RPG), the Eagles silenced their critics with their first NCAA Tournament victory, a 56-43 win at St. Mary's College.
Stover, who overcame a serious ACL injury her sophomore year, became the eleventh player in school history to crack the 1,000 point plateau, finishing her career with 1,143 points, good for fifth all-time at the school. Junior guard Andrea Sellers (13.2 PPG) joined Stover by scoring her 1,000th point less than a week later, and currently stands seventh in school history, with 1,060 points.
With the fire power of those two, in addition to All-CAC forward Erin Caulfield (14.2 PPG), point guard and three-point specialist Erika Grace (64 3-pt FG, 43.2% 3 pt accuracy), defensive stopper Bemice Kenney, and the rebounding of Helen Huley and Jessica Sullins, the Eagles balance, as well as their talent, made them one of the most dangerous teams in the region.
The Eagles began the year with high expectations despite falling in the CAC semifinals the year before. With perhaps the best recruiting class ever at Mary Washington, Coach Gallahan's team rolled to a 5-0 start for the first time ever. The highlight of the early season was a 63-57 win at Marymount, breaking the Saints' five year undefeated reign on top of the CAC. After a pair of tough losses to NCAA Tournament-bound Rowan and St. Mary's College, the Eagles won ten of their next eleven games, including an impressive 82-59 win over NCAA Tournament-bound Christopher Newport University at Goolrick Hall.
The Eagles closed the regular season with a pair of tough losses, but rallied to defeat Catholic University, 66-44, in the opening round of the CAC Tournament. That win set up a showdown with Gallaudet University in the semifinals, in which the Eagles prevailed, 83-74. The Eagles dropped the conference title game at St. Mary's, but returned four days later to down the Seahawks, 56-43, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The landmark win was the first in the national tourney for the Eagles, who lost in the first round back in 1994 to Marymount.
The team's depth was another key to its amazing run a year ago, as every player on the roster played in at least twenty of the team's 29 games. That depth, and the ability for every player to contribute, allowed Gallahan to substitute freely and thus strengthened team unity and cohesiveness.