The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 18th group of inductees, the Class of 2016, on ABC during the WNBA All-Star game. The six members of the Class of 2016 are: Natalie Williams (player), Sherri Coale (coach), June Courteau (contributor), Joe Lombard (coach), Jackie Stiles (player), and Bill Tipps (posthumously) (contributor). The Class of 2016 will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on June 11, 2016 in Knoxville, TN.

With the addition of the Class of 2016, the WBHOF will recognize the 1996 US Olympic Team for their contributions to the game in a display at the Hall entitled “Trailblazers of the Game”. The 1996 US Olympic Team will join the All American Red Heads, Edmonton Grads, the Former Helms/Citizens Savings/Founders Bank, the 1976 US Olympic Team, the 1972-74 Immaculata Mighty Macs and the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens as the only seven groups recognized as “Trailblazers of the Game”. The 1996 Olympic team has produced 10 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductees.

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors serves as the selection committee in determining which individuals will be inducted each year and which groups will be honored as “Trailblazers of the Game”. Voting is based on minimum candidate requirements, which include record of performance, national or international recognition, and contributions to the game of women’s basketball.

Stay tuned for more information regarding the 2016 Induction Ceremony.

The Class of 2016

NATALIE WILLIAMS (Player)
Williams was a two-time Kodak All-American while at the University of California Los Angeles. She was the first woman to earn All-American honors in both basketball and volleyball in the same year. Williams was a three-time All-WNBA 1st team selection and a three-time WNBA All-Star. She helped guide USA Basketball to the 2000 Olympic gold medal. Williams played for the Indiana Fever from 2003-2004.

SHERRI COALE (Coach)
Coale is currently the head coach for the University of Oklahoma. She has guided Oklahoma to a 420-206 record in 19 years including 16 consecutive NCAA tournaments appearances with 3 Women’s Final Four berths. Coale has guided her teams to 6 Big 12 regular season championships and 4 Big 12 tournament championships. She has been named Big 12 Coach of the Year 4 times.

JUNE COURTEAU (Contributor)
Courteau has 45 years’ experience in women’s basketball officiating. She officiated WNBA games from 1997-2011, including 13 WNBA Finals and two WNBA All-Star games. Courteau also officiated in 12 NCAA Women’s Final Fours including 5 National Championship games. She was the 1989 Naismith Official of the Year and 1990 Atlantic Coast Conference Official of the Year.

JOE LOMBARD (Coach)
Lombard has guided Nazareth and Canyon High Schools to 17 state championships. In 37 years of coaching girls high school basketball, he has led his teams to an overall record of 1165-109. Lombard reached 1,000 wins before losing 100 games. He was named the 2003 USA Today Coach of the Year and the WBCA Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Texas Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

JACKIE STILES (Player)
Stiles became the first and only Division I women’s basketball player to score more than 1,000 points in a single season. She is the all-time leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball with 3,393 points while at Missouri State University (Formerly Southwest Missouri State University). Stiles was named a 2001 Kodak All-American and received the 2001 Wade Trophy award. She was named the 2001 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

BILL TIPPS (Contributor)
Tipps served as a member of the USA Women’s Basketball Games committee. From 1988-1996, he was a member of Staff Selection Sub-Committee of USA Basketball. From 1979-1991, Tipps served as the Chairman of AAU Girls Basketball. He was a 1987 President’s National Leadership Award honoree. Tipps was inducted into the AAU Volunteer Hall of Fame in 1991.

Former Fever Star Natalie Williams Joins WBHOF Class of 2016