Bio

Widely considered to be the finest women’s basketball player to have toiled for the Colts when she graduated from SUNY Orange in 1976, Linda Tjepkema crafted a remarkable career on the hardwood for head coach Paula Urbin.

She helped lead the Colts to a sterling 16-3 mark as a freshman in 1974-75, averaging 19 points and 14 rebounds per game. She was named the Most Valuable Player at the 1975 New York State tournament after scoring 25 points in each of the team’s two games there.

During her sophomore season, she averaged 21 points and 17 rebounds per game as the Colts captured the New York State championship before ultimately earning a third-place showing in the regional tournament. Tjepkema earned a full athletic scholarship to Seton Hall University.

She led the Pirates in rebounding as a junior, snaring 8.8 boards per game. During her two seasons, the Pirates combined to win 33 of 51 games and advanced to the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship tournament at the conclusion of her senior campaign in 1978.

The Pirates won a school-record 21 games in 1977-78. Tjepkema graduated from Seton Hall as the program’s career leader in blocked shots (87) and currently ranks ninth on the Pirates’ all-time ladder in that category.