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Kamie Ethridge | 1979-1982 | Monterey High School | Basketball

Kamie Ethridge played basketball at Monterey High School from 1979-1982.

During her three years at Monterey, Ethridge was named All City, All District,and All South Plains. She was also named as a 2nd team selection to the All-State team in 1980-81 and 1st team All-State in 1981-1982. She was also selected to the 1st team of the Converse High School All-American team. She led her team to a state championship (5A) in 1981.

Ethridge was an All-American point guard at the University of Texas at Austin and won a Gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. She is considered one of the best women’s basketball players in history and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Ethridge is currently associate head coach at Kansas State University.

Ethridge attended the University of Texas, where she played for Hall of Fame coach Jody Conradt. The Lady Longhorns were one of the more powerful teams in the country at the time Ethridge joined the team, and she would help strengthen that position. Ethridge arrived at Texas in 1982. Her first two years, the team earned a two seed at the 1983 and the 1984 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

In 1984, the team was strong enough to earn the number one ranking in the regular season final AP poll. In 1985, the team would also end the season ranked number one in the poll. That year, the team went 28–3 in the regular season, and looked forward to a Final Four held at their own arena, the Erwin Center. The Lady Longhorns were stunned by a buzzer beating shot by Western Kentucky, and lost 92–90 in the Mideast Regional semifinals.

Despite earning lofty rankings, the team entered the 1985–86 season without having won a National Championship. Ethridge was one of six seniors who were in their last year of college ball with one last chance for a championship.

Ethridge was considered very competitive—she once competed in a triathlon, riding the nine mile bicycle leg with a flat tire for the last three miles. The team was again ranked very high, prompting Sports Illustrated to refer to their arena as "the best little scorehouse in Texas." That year, the team entered the tournament undefeated, and won all their tournament games, finishing the season as the first undefeated NCAA Division I women’s basketball team (34–0), and National champions.

Ethridge was the 1986 winner of the Honda award for basketball and the overall Honda-Broderick Cup winner for all sports. She was also the winner of the Wade Trophy, reflecting leadership and character in addition to athletic ability. While at Texas, she had 776 assists, setting a school record.

Ethridge played for the USA squad in Kobe, Japan in 1985. The team brought home a silver medal, after falling to the USSR. The following year, Ethridge played for the USA team at the World Championships, in Moscow. This time, the USA team would meet the USSR in the title game and emerge victorious, winning the gold medal with a score of 108–88. Ethridge was a member of the gold medal winning USA team competing in the Pan American games held in Indianapolis, Indiana during August of 1987, although she saw limited action due to a knee injury sustained in the first game.

Ethridge finished her USA basketball playing career with a gold medal win in the 1988 Olympics held in Seoul, Korea.
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